RASC News Agency: Local media have reported that the Taliban’s Directorate of Invitation and Guidance for Public Health in Kandahar has issued a new directive imposing fresh restrictions on female healthcare workers. According to this decree, female employees must wear specific attire and be accompanied by a “Mahram” (a male guardian) when traveling to and from their workplaces. The Directorate of Invitation and Guidance under the Kandahar Department of Public Health sent this letter on September 1st to health centers across the province, outlining 13 new regulations for female workers.
The letter stated that female and male healthcare workers should not be in the same spaces unless absolutely necessary. It also emphasized that both employees and patients should not remove their clothes in health centers. Additionally, the Directorate warned that male staff should not enter female sections of health centers. If their presence is needed, curtains must separate them. Female healthcare workers have also been instructed to attend training sessions only with their “Mahram” and are prohibited from wearing makeup while on duty. Furthermore, the decree bans the use of smartphones by female employees in health centers.
These new restrictions are part of a broader crackdown on Afghanistani women following the enactment of the Taliban’s new “Amr bil Ma’ruf” (vice and virtue) law. Officials enforcing this law in various provinces have reportedly resorted to violence against women in several instances. The Taliban’s “Amr bil Ma’ruf” law classifies the voice and face of women as part of their ‘Awrah’ (parts of the body that must be covered), effectively banning their presence in public gatherings. This law has provoked widespread reactions from international organizations and countries around the world. The UN’s Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan strongly condemned the law, stating that by deeming a woman’s voice as ‘Awrah,’ Afghanistani women would be forced to communicate using sign language.
