RASC News Agency: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has announced that 20 women in Daykundi province have successfully graduated from a two-year midwifery program. This training initiative, supported by the European Union and managed by the UNHCR in collaboration with the “Social and Technical Services of Homeland” institute, recently concluded its training for these graduates in Daykundi.
According to the UNHCR’s announcement released today Tuesday, November 5, the program aims to address the alarmingly high rates of maternal and child mortality in the region. Furthermore, the report indicates that a new training program for an additional group of midwives has also commenced. This development occurs amidst the Taliban’s ongoing ban on women’s education in universities and other educational institutions. The group has systematically denied women and girls their right to education, labeling their voices as sources of “Fitna” (sedition) and “Awrah” (nudity), and has enforced restrictions on women’s movements in public spaces. The Taliban’s leader has characterized women as a “plague” on society that must be suppressed, instructing them to conform to what is deemed “Shari’ah” and to refrain from leaving their homes without valid justification.
As the prohibition of women’s education persists, Afghanistan faces a critical shortage of female healthcare professionals. Health centers are already grappling with a significant lack of female doctors. Previously, an organization operating in Afghanistan’s health sector reported a pressing need for 20,000 midwives. The organization emphasized the urgent necessity for these midwives to provide essential support to women in the country.
