Afghanistan is likely to stop women from joining nursing and midwifery courses, according to reports from different schools. This move comes after an order from the Taliban’s leader. A health ministry official said this ban will make the country’s healthcare problems even worse. “We already have a lack of doctors and nurses. This will only make it harder,” they said.
So far, there has been no official announcement, but two health ministry officials shared this news with BBC Afghan. Videos showed students crying after hearing this. Health officials recently met in Kabul to discuss this news with school leaders.
“In the meeting, they told us that girls can’t study in our schools anymore,” explained a public health ministry official. They weren’t given much information and were simply told to follow the leader’s order. One school director said many leaders were present at this meeting. Some staff members are confused about this new rule.
Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, they have already prevented girls from going to secondary schools and universities. This has led to worldwide criticism, with many calling it “gender apartheid.” Health training schools were among the few places left for women to learn, and now women make up most of the students in these programs.
There are about 10 public and over 150 private health schools in Afghanistan, offering diplomas in subjects like midwifery and pharmacy. Around 35,000 women are currently studying there.
“This new rule is a huge problem. What will we do with only 10 percent of our students?” asked one school manager.
One midwifery teacher in Kabul received a message from her school telling her not to come to work for now, but they didn’t explain why. “This is really shocking for us. We feel lost,” she said. “This was our only hope after being banned from universities.”
A UK official expressed worry about this decision, calling it “another attack on women’s rights to education” and saying it will make healthcare harder for Afghan women and children.
This ban is the latest in a series of strict rules from the Taliban since they returned to power. In August, they ordered women to wear full-body clothes in public. In October, they said women should not pray aloud in front of others, claiming a woman’s voice should be kept quiet.
The Taliban’s treatment of women is concerning. According to Amnesty International, they have:
– Stopped girls from going to secondary school
– Limited women’s job and education opportunities
– Imposed strict dress codes
– Arrested women and girls for “moral corruption”
– Increased early and forced marriages.
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