In Afghanistan, women were banned from continuing their education for midwife and nurses, leaving the country without critical training of health care professionals. This was reported by BBC, referring to data from educational institutions and the Ministry of Health under the control of the Taliban.
Journalists point out that educational institutions with about 17,000 women have been ordered to be closed before further disposal. Although there was no official statement from the Taliban, the sources have confirmed that this decision applies to all the programs of preparation of midwife and nurses.
This innovation has become another step in a number of restrictions on the rights of women, which Taliban introduces from the moment of coming to power in August 2021. Girls are already forbidden to receive secondary and higher education, despite the promises that schools will open after "modification of curricula according to Islamic principles".
The prohibition has catastrophic consequences for the country's health care system, which is so suffering from a acute shortage of specialists. According to the UN, Afghanistan needs at least 18,000 additional midwives to meet the basic needs of the population. In addition, according to WHO statistics, Afghanistan has one of the world's worst mortality rates among mothers: 620 women of women born to live children during childbirth.
Medical colleges remained one of the few options for Afghan women who sought education. Now even this opportunity is closed, which threatens not only the rights of women, but also the lives of thousands of mothers and infants in the country.
