Amnesty International’s Post

Women in Afghanistan have now been banned from going to medical or midwives institution and midwifery and nursing were among the few remaining rights of education and career choice that Afghan women had in the country. Closure or a complete shutdown of medical institution for women lead women and girls to die due to a lack of proper healthcare or during childbirth because the Taliban has also banned women from being treated by male doctors in the absences of a male guardian. Afghanistan already has one of the highest rates of deaths during child birth in the world and such matter further endangers women’s life in Afghanistan. This is a systematic oppression of women in Afghanistan and requires an immediate and urgent action first by the Afghan people as well as international. World Health Organization - United Nations - UNWomen Wwk - Présidence de la République Bill Gates  

Human rights, particularly women’s rights, were dealt another blow when the Taliban banned Afghan women from attending nursing and midwifery courses. Soon after the ban was announced, medical training institutes turned away students and suspended courses until further notice. A medical student and activist from Kabul said, “A society without female doctors or medical workers is doomed.” The ban would affect women’s right to education and healthcare access. In Afghanistan, people are bound by traditions and cultural practices - meaning women are not allowed to be treated or checked by a male doctor. With this ban, no more midwives, nurses, or female medical practitioners will assist female patients. Now, women are neither allowed to be treated by male healthcare professionals nor allowed to train as healthcare professionals. The results are simple - you’re leaving millions of Afghan women and girls to die by denying them healthcare. Even before the Taliban took over, Afghanistan ranked among the lowest for maternal health, with 620 women dying for every 100,000 live births in 2020. Furthermore, according to the United Nations’ reproductive health agency, Afghanistan needs an additional 18,000 skilled midwives to ensure Afghan women get adequate care. Image Source - BBC #taliban #afghanistan #kabul #womensrightsarehumanrights #humanrights #healthcare #education #accesstoeducation #reproductivehealth

The recent decision by the Ministry of Public Health to suspend all health institutes for women—including midwifery, nursing, laboratory, and dental prosthetics—is a devastating blow to women's education and their essential role in healthcare. This decision not only deprives women of their basic right to education but also cripples the healthcare system, which desperately needs skilled female professionals, especially in communities where women can only access care from female providers. What makes this even more heartbreaking is the global response—or lack thereof. Despite the systematic erosion of women's rights, countries continue to engage with this administration, offering legitimacy through their silence. The international community, which once championed the cause of Afghan women, now watches quietly, taking no meaningful action. How much more must Afghan women endure? How many more rights must be stripped away before the world decides to act? This silence is deafening—and it is killing hope. American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) United Nations Education Above All Foundation Qatar Foundation

Earlier this week, the Taliban issued a decree banning Afghani women from all medical training, including #nursing and #midwifery. This #FemaleHealthFriday 🎉 I’m taking a step back to remind myself and the rest of the #womenshealth and #lgbtqhealth community that our issues are global issues. This ban on healthcare education will further worsen the already abysmal state of #healthcare in Afghanistan. A 2023 survey of 131 Afghan healthcare workers (80% #women) released BEFORE this ban found (Glass, et al., 2023) that: ‼️ Nearly three-quarters felt unsafe going to and from work, primarily due to lack of male escorts. ‼️ Almost half reported conditions for providing care were worse or much worse since the Taliban returned to power. ‼️ There was a massive increase in sick children needing care and child malnutrition. Even before the ban, most Afghan women received little to no #prenatal or #perinatal care, and up to 60% of deliveries were not attended by qualified birth professionals (MN Dept of Health). In 2020, #maternalmortality in Afghanistan was 620 deaths per 100,000 live births. This is orders of magnitude higher than rates in the US and other high-income countries (MN Dept of Health). Now that women can’t train as nurses or midwives, we should expect to see even more dire statistics. Those of us working in #femtech and #femalehealth must remember: there is an urgent need to improve women's healthcare access globally. We—myself included—can’t forget to look beyond the confines of our countries, our regions, and our socioeconomic classes: our fight is a fight for all #womxn, everywhere. #womenshealthmatters #globalhealth #femalehealthadvocate

Breaking News: Another Savage Attack on Afghan Girls' Education In a tragic new move, the Taliban has now banned women from studying at medical institutes in Afghanistan, including fields like midwifery, dentistry, and nursing. This decision further undermines the future of Afghan women, robbing them of crucial professional opportunities. But it also poses a dire threat to the health and well-being of Afghan society, as it restricts the ability of women to serve as healthcare providers in a country already grappling with significant challenges in this sector. This is not just another restriction—it's a calculated attack on the potential of Afghan women and girls. They are crying, not for anything else, but for their right to education. A recent video shows the raw pain of these girls, whose dreams are crushed by this ongoing injustice. These cries are not for luxury, but for the basic right that every girl in the world deserves: the opportunity to learn and grow. We cannot stand by in silence. Afghanistan remains the only country in the 21st century where girls are systematically denied access to secondary education. The international community must continue to apply pressure, advocate for the rights of these girls, and demand that the Taliban lift these barbaric restrictions. The longer this ban persists, the more damage it does to Afghanistan’s future, and to the lives of its people. The time to act is now. #GirlsEducation #Afghanistan #HumanRights #WomenInMedicine #StopTheBan #letafghangirlslearn #sdg4 #educationforall #AfghanGirls #EducationForAll #WomenEmpowerment #RightToEducation #EndTheBan #SaveAfghanGirls #WomenInMedicine #StopTaliban #GenderEquality #HumanRights #EmpowerGirls #EducationIsPower

- Afghanistan ranks among the top 10 countries with the highest maternal mortality rates, with 620 women dying per 100,000 live births, according to the WHO. - The UN estimates that Afghanistan needs an additional 18,000 midwives to meet the country's healthcare needs. - Banning Afghan women from accessing health education is a direct threat to their lives.This ban must be lifted immediately to protect the health and safety of Afghan women. #Afghanistan #AfghanWomen #healthcare

Sitting here, thousands of miles away from my country, reading shocking news, and looking at the life that men have decided for us, I laugh (a bitter laugh) and simultaneously cry. I am not only referring to the life the Taliban have imposed on us, but also to the failed peace processes, in which, some men decided that , our presence to be either absent or minimal, those processes that paved the way for the Taliban’s return, and gifted us all the current fate we have. Same with the republican government, that never took us seriously, offering us a Ministry of Women’s Affairs but no operational role or funding. A government where most ministries were led by men, and when we raised our concerns as women, they dismissed them as 'nonsense' and continued enforcing their male-made policies. Why? Because they don’t have a female body or emotions to have experienced the realities of a woman. So why they should care? But of course, later, as Caroline Criado Perez explains in her book 'Invisible Women', they disguise their 'male bias' under the label of being 'gender-neutral.' So, we may say, anything that is not gender-sensitive is to stem from a biased ignorance that is wrapped up this way, and Caroline puts it as, 'discrimination against women.' Isn’t that right? From now on, whenever I come across the term 'gender-neutral,' I will read it twice with much greater care, and see to what extend it feeds into structural inequalities. The thought of how far Afghan women’s status, campaigns, and even our minimum standards have been dragged down is maddening. That we went from campaigning to have our names mentioned on our children’s ID cards, to wishing just to visit the city without a male companion. That we went from fighting against offensive, sexist songs, to fighting for the right to go to a park. From advocating for gender equality in the justice system, to struggling for the right to education beyond grade six. From arguing against the normalization of misogynistic slurs , to struggling just to survive. From advocating to run in high ranking governmental seats, to seeking a 'temporary protection' as a refugee in another country. We have paid a high price, Afghan women and girls specially have borne, and continue to bear, the highest price in different ways. I remember the days in Kabul when, due to the dire security situation, we worked from home. The deafening sound of explosions would rattle the windows of the room. At the time, I thought to myself, life couldn’t possibly get more unsafe than this. But now I see there is something worse: being alive but not truly living, which is the current reality for Afghan women and girls. I hope the dire human rights crisis in Afghanistan improves, so that the path to social justice and gender equality can once again be paved.

Afghan women’s opportunities are disappearing. First, girls were barred from attending secondary school. Then, women were banned from university. Now, they are being turned away from nursing and midwifery classes, one of the last remaining opportunities for them to study, work, and save lives. In a country where one woman dies every two hours from childbirth complications, this decision will cost countless lives. In many parts of Afghanistan, women are forbidden from seeing male doctors. Without midwives, who will care for mothers and deliver the babies of the future? Forced to give birth at home, women and their babies will face unimaginable risks. Women must have access to medical education. Without it, the consequences will be devastating for families, communities, and Afghanistan’s already crumbling health system. #GenderEquality #midwife #afghanistan #ReproductiveRights

The Taliban’s new oppressive rule bans women from studying medicine and attending nursing and midwifery schools, thereby erasing their role in healthcare. Under their regime, male medical staff are prohibited from treating women without a male relative present. This devastating ban will dismantle women’s access to essential healthcare, leaving countless lives at risk. Afghanistan, already grappling with one of the world’s highest maternal mortality rates, faces an even bleaker future. By cutting off education for female healthcare workers, the Taliban are not just denying women their rights—they are endangering generations of Afghan women and children. Women’s full participation and equality in society is a fundamental human right that is essential for a peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable world. It’s up to all of us to use our voices for Afghan women, whose lives depend on the world paying attention.

This past week the Taliban banned Afghan women from studying midwifery and nursing. This strain of education was the only career women were able to continue pursuing after the invasion of the country. Now, this too has been forbidden to them, which will result in many problems to exponentially increase: 1. Who will treat Afghan women and girls when in need? As male medics are not allowed to assist and treat women according to the Taliban’s New creed, and women not allowed to train to become medics, women’s health will continue decline due to lack of healthcare and newborn mortality rates will spike as women are not allowed to practice medicine and as such will not have the space or resources to help bringing a baby to life. 2. How will women who were breadwinners for their families now provide with this type of employment is cut off for them? Either over 17,000 medic students told not to return to their studies or work, how will they provide for their families? Moreover, the number and exponential increase in food insecurity with a family unable to provide for their families will continue to be seen. Already, there are more than 15 million Afghans who live below the poverty line as it is, and this number will continue to increase with the direction the Taliban are going. Pushing women outside society and into the four walls of their home will continue to negatively affect Afghans, yet there seems to be no end to this madness. Women are inherent to the wellbeing and progression of a society and must be involved in society. If only the Taliban could understand this simple concept of life. #Women #Life #Freedom #Awareness