RASC News Agency: Amnesty International has denounced the Taliban’s latest decree banning Afghanistani women and girls from attending medical institutes, calling for an immediate end to the “systematic harassment and persecution” of women in the country. In a statement on X, Amnesty emphasized that medical education institutions had served as the “last remaining avenue” for Afghanistani women to pursue education a path that the Taliban have now closed. The Taliban’s leader recently issued a directive ordering the closure of all medical and vocational institutes to female students. According to credible sources, Noor Jalal Jalali, the Taliban’s Minister of Public Health, convened a meeting with officials from health institutes in Kabul, where he announced that women would no longer be allowed to pursue studies in these institutions.
This decision comes after the Taliban’s December 2022 ban on women’s university education, which had forced many women to shift to medical institutes as a last resort for continuing their studies. With this new decree, Afghanistani women have now been completely deprived of opportunities to gain medical education eliminating the final pillar of their professional and academic aspirations. For over three years, the Taliban have prevented girls beyond sixth grade from accessing education, intensifying a nationwide humanitarian crisis. Afghanistan is already grappling with a severe shortage of female doctors, nurses, and midwives an issue that disproportionately affects women in rural and remote areas, where access to healthcare is critically limited.
David Sproule, Canada’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan, addressed the Taliban’s draconian policies during a major conference on Afghanistani women held in Madrid, Spain, earlier this month. He urged the international community to employ “legal and diplomatic measures” to confront the Taliban, stating: “The Taliban leadership is not concerned with the welfare of the Afghanistani people, let alone Afghanistani women. Their priorities lie in consolidating power and serving their own interests.” The consequences of the Taliban’s restrictions are most dire for women living in remote villages, where healthcare access has always been tenuous. These communities lack female healthcare professionals and basic medical infrastructure, leaving countless women without life-saving care a problem that has persisted for decades but is now further exacerbated under Taliban rule.
The United Nations has issued a stark warning regarding the Taliban’s latest decree, cautioning that it will severely undermine Afghanistan’s already fragile healthcare system. The UN underscored that the ban jeopardizes the future of medical services in the country, depriving millions of women of essential healthcare and obstructing the training of future female medical professionals. The Taliban’s continued suppression of women’s rights not only deepens the humanitarian crisis but also dismantles Afghanistan’s ability to address critical societal needs. Their regressive policies reflect an unrelenting assault on human rights and a profound disregard for the country’s future.
