Afghan Women Face Bleak Future as Taliban Bans Midwife and Nursing Training
An outdoor girls classroom in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
A new decree issued by the Taliban is threatening to ban women from enrolling in courses specializing in nursing and midwifery. Before any formal announcements of the ban, schools and institutions have already received notification to end classes and women are being barred from going into the schools.
Ever since the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in 2021, following the removal of U.S. troops from the country, the group has restricted women in various ways. They have prevented women from attending secondary school, restricted their access to work, instilled strict clothing requirements, detained women for “moral corruption,” and have enforced early marriages.
Following the barring of secondary education, Afghan women resorted to training and working as midwives and nurses. Currently, Afghanistan has around 10 public and 150 private health organizations offering diplomas for women, with 35,000 women enrolled in the program. The ban is expected to affect around 17,000 women around the country.
Since male medics are not allowed to treat women in many parts of Afghanistan, the female healthcare system has faced significant challenges and is likely to get worse after the ban takes complete effect.
A health minister in Afghanistan also has expressed concern, stating that there is already a shortage of professional medical staff, even with current NGO services. In fact, the UN estimates that Afghanistan already needs an additional 18,000 midwives to meet the country's needs.
Currently, “Afghanistan has one of the world's worst maternal mortality rates, with 620 women dying per 100,000 live births, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).”
Furthermore, it is estimated that a woman dies every two hours in Afghanistan due to birth-related complications. There is a high possibility that infant and maternal mortality will increase when the ban is put into effect, especially in more remote areas where hospitals and medical services are less accessible.
Currently, however, there have been some reports of women’s education continuing. In some parts of Afghanistan, the Taliban silently ignored the ban and permitted a small group of girls to partake in privately-run courses. There is some hope that this might continue, although it would not be enough to offset the current harm to Aghan women’s health.
Afghan woman getting treated at a clinic run in Kabul, Afghanistan (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
The ban has also caused global outcry. The EU has expressed strong concerns surrounding the news, and has urged the Taliban to ‘“reverse this discriminatory policy and uphold their commitments under international law, including ensuring equal access to education and to basic healthcare for all Afghans.’”
Moreover, Germany’s Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, has condemned the Taliban, and has promised to actively support Afghan women by inviting more Afghans to Germany to safeguard women’s rights.
The UN has already declared that it would be hard to recognize the Taliban as rulers of the country if they kept their restrictions on women and girls. Currently, the government in Kabul is not recognized by any country and disregards any criticism of their actions as “interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.”
The captain of Afghanistan’s national cricket team has also criticized the ban, insisting that the Taliban should repeal their decision.
Although the ban is not officially declared, it is likely that it will take place in the near future and follow the Taliban’s trajectory of restricting women’s rights. If put into effect, the ban will presumably exacerbate health issues in the country. With women’s access to healthcare and maternity care already limited, it will inevitably place Afgan women in a more vulnerable and precarious condition.