New Taliban rule prohibits women from pursuing medical education: 'heartbreaking choice'

Women in Afghanistan are no longer allowed to attend nursing and midwifery classes, which is another setback for their rights since the Taliban took power. This new directive has closed the last remaining opportunity for women to receive an education.

Hundreds of women's hopes were crushed by a devastating decision, as Manizha Bakhtari, Afghanistan's ambassador in Austria, shared with Planet Chronicle Digital.

The Taliban's supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, issued a decree that was communicated by the Taliban's Ministry of Public Health during a meeting with private medical institutions, as reported by Human Rights Watch.

The latest decree from the Taliban has put an end to the last hope for Afghanistan's young women, as it follows earlier bans on secondary education for girls and universities for women.

The ban imposed by the Taliban is a gross violation of human rights and a grave setback for Afghanistan's development, according to Ambassador Bakhtari, who is also Afghanistan's representative to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

The ambassador stated that excluding women from crucial jobs would increase maternal and neonatal death rates, weaken the nation's healthcare system, and hinder its advancement.

Women who were enrolled in courses to become nurses and midwives were instructed not to attend classes anymore.

The "inexplicable and unjustifiable" announcement, if implemented, will have a devastating impact on the entire population and must be reversed, according to U.N. Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett.

The lack of access to health care and inadequate services has made Afghanistan's population vulnerable to disease and even routine illnesses that could be treated with basic medical services. Restricting women from studying at medical institutions harms the entire population, which is desperately in need of health care workers.

The Taliban's latest ban will have the greatest impact on rural areas, as cultural norms prohibit male doctors from treating female patients.

One of the most dangerous places on Earth to give birth is Afghanistan, where the World Bank reported that 620 women die per 100,000 live births due to pregnancy-related causes. The World Health Organization estimated in 2020 that 24 women die every day during childbirth or pregnancy in this country.

The restriction on medical training for women in Afghanistan is likely to intensify the country's ongoing humanitarian crisis, which has deteriorated since the Taliban took control and the international community significantly reduced its financial assistance due to concerns about the Taliban's discriminatory practices against women.

In 2023, the U.N. reported that over 23 million people required humanitarian aid, with 4 million Afghans suffering from malnutrition, including 3.2 million children under five years old.

Human Rights Watch reports that Afghanistan is the only country globally where women and girls are prohibited from pursuing secondary and higher education, as well as numerous industries and government sectors.

The Taliban have broken their promises to respect women's rights in Afghanistan. In September 2021, they banned young girls from attending secondary school after the sixth grade, and in December 2022, they banned women from attending higher education.

International organizations and the U.N. have urged the Taliban to revoke their directive and other oppressive policies against women.