Afghanistan Peace Campaign
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned about the negative impacts of the ban on women’s and girls’ education in the field of medical sciences in Afghanistan, describing it as a factor that could lead to a long-term crisis in the country’s healthcare sector.
On Tuesday, February 18, OCHA released a report stating that the maternal mortality rate in Afghanistan is three times higher than the global average.
According to the report, on December 2, 2024, the Ministry of Higher Education under the Taliban administration ordered the closure of all medical institutes for women and girls, including higher education and semi-professional programs. This decision poses serious challenges to the future of Afghanistan’s healthcare system.
Earlier, some media outlets reported that Bakht-ur-Rahman Sharafat, Deputy Minister of Public Health, had announced during a meeting with medical institute officials in Kabul that female students would no longer be allowed to continue their studies in these institutions.
A day after this announcement, the Taliban authorities in Kabul and several other provinces began preventing girls from entering these educational institutions. Before this decision, women and girls were pursuing education in fields such as midwifery, pharmacy, dental prosthetics, laboratory sciences, radiology, physiotherapy, and nursing in medical institutes.
According to United Nations statistics, Afghanistan is among the countries with the highest maternal mortality rates in the world.
The ban on women’s medical education will not only worsen the existing healthcare crisis but will also deprive Afghan society of skilled female professionals who play a crucial role in maternal and child healthcare. This decision threatens to create a severe shortage of female healthcare workers, which could disproportionately impact women, particularly in rural areas where cultural norms often prevent them from receiving treatment from male doctors.
Addressing this issue requires urgent international intervention and policy changes to ensure that Afghan women and girls can resume their education and contribute to the healthcare sector. Without immediate action, Afghanistan’s healthcare system risks further collapse, leading to increased suffering and loss of lives.