RASC News Agency: Human Rights Watch has denounced the Taliban’s recent prohibition on women’s education in medical institutes, warning that it will exacerbate “suffering, disease, and premature death” among Afghanistani women. The organization highlighted that, beyond restricting women from medical education, the Taliban have reportedly barred male doctors from treating female patients in certain provinces, further deepening the healthcare crisis.
This dual restriction, the organization asserts, will lead to an acute shortage of female medical professionals, leaving millions of Afghanistani women without access to essential healthcare services. Human Rights Watch emphasized that medical education represented one of the final avenues for women to pursue higher education in Afghanistan, which has now been entirely shut off. The report also sheds light on the harsh retaliatory measures faced by women’s rights activists who have opposed the Taliban’s escalating restrictions over the past three years. These activists have been subjected to “physical assaults, arbitrary detention, sexual violence, torture, and enforced disappearances.”
The organization called for the Taliban to be held accountable for their “systematic crimes against women and girls,” urging the international community to address the pervasive culture of impunity for grave human rights violations in Afghanistan. However, the report also acknowledged the current lack of any viable accountability mechanisms within the country. In a promising development, Human Rights Watch welcomed the recent statement by International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan, who announced that his office would “soon issue arrest warrants related to the situation in Afghanistan.” This announcement, the organization suggested, provides a glimmer of hope for justice.
Experts caution that the Taliban’s decision will not only exacerbate Afghanistan’s crumbling healthcare system but also cause long-term, irreversible damage to Afghanistani women and children. By systematically dismantling women’s access to education and healthcare, the Taliban are pushing Afghanistani women further into marginalization, perpetuating a cycle of suffering that will reverberate for generations.
