RASC News Agency: The National Examination Authority of Afghanistan, operating under the Taliban administration, has announced that the upcoming medical licensing exam for recent graduates will be held without the participation of female candidates. This pivotal exam, scheduled for December 27, is exclusively open to male candidates. According to the authority, the decision was made at the request of the Taliban-controlled Ministry of Higher Education. Erfanullah Ebad, spokesperson for the National Examination Authority, expressed hope that future exams might accommodate female candidates, though he added that a precise timeline for such an inclusion remains undetermined.
Female medical graduates have decried the Taliban’s discriminatory policies, emphasizing that this marks the third instance in which they have been barred from taking the medical licensing exam. Women and girls in Afghanistan have raised alarms over these restrictions, pointing to the broader implications for the nation’s healthcare system. The Taliban’s prohibition of male doctors from conducting medical examinations on women, coupled with the exclusion of female practitioners from the field, has devastated healthcare access, particularly in rural areas. Women in these regions now face an acute shortage of female doctors, leaving many without vital medical services.
The Taliban’s actions are deeply rooted in tribal customs, particularly Pashtunwali, which relegates women to subservient roles within society. These norms dictate that a woman’s primary functions are childbearing and domestic servitude while enduring oppression and violence without recourse. Over the past three and a half years, the Taliban have codified these tribal practices under the guise of Islamic and Sharia principles, further entrenching their regressive policies and exacerbating the marginalization of women in Afghanistan.
