Students attending midwifery and nursing institutes in Afghanistan they reported that They were ordered not to return to class. since last Tuesday, thus closing a new way for them to continue their studies in this country, where women have been excluded from secondary and higher education by the ‘de facto’ Taliban authorities.
The organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) denounced this decision by the Taliban authorities in a statement in which it considered that the alleged decision – which the ‘de facto’ Afghan authorities have not confirmed to EFE – “closes one of the last ‘loopholes’ in its prohibition of the education for women and girls in Afghanistan.”
“On Monday, the director and teachers told us not to return to the medical institute, mentioning the new government ban,” nursing student Tayaba, 26, told EFE.
For their part, according to the directors of the medical institutes, medical training programs were banned by order of the Taliban’s top leader, Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada.
“The directors of the medical institutes were summoned by the Ministry of Public Health, and department officials told us not to continue with medical studies in the country until further notice, as ordered by the Taliban leadership,” said a director of a medical institute on condition of anonymity to EFE.
Eman, a 24-year-old nursing student, regrets that this situation undermines one more hope for her.
“I started studying nursing a year ago, but this door is also closed to us”, he assures.
The Taliban who have governed Afghanistan since their return to power in August 2021 have repeated on several occasions that would resume the return of women and girls to education after a number of issues were resolvedmainly logistics.
But this decision has not yet been made.
“These midwifery and nursing classes gave us hope after being isolated at home, restricted from the public, prohibited from working, from secondary and higher education, but this hope is also over”said Wagma, 28, a nursing student.
The prohibition of women from undertaking short-term medical studies will have a significant impact on the Afghan health sector, since according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF), “Afghanistan urgently needs 18,000 additional midwives to meet the demand it needs”.
According to the Fund, Afghanistan has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world.
A woman dies every hour in the country due to complications in pregnancy and childbirth.
(With information from EFE)
