Afghanistan Times
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KABUL – The Taliban government is reportedly preparing to prohibit women from enrolling in nursing and midwifery courses, according to news agency AFP, which cited senior staff at several educational institutions. The move follows an edict from the Taliban’s supreme leader, sources said, though no formal announcement has been made.
A health ministry official warned that the decision would deepen the crisis in the nation’s struggling healthcare system, which already suffers from a critical shortage of medical staff. “We are already short of professional medical and para-medical staff, which would result in further shortages,” the source told AFP.
Health officials reportedly held a meeting in Kabul on Monday with heads of educational institutions to deliver the directive. An unnamed public health ministry official said, “There is no official letter, but the directors of institutes were informed in a meeting that women and girls can’t study anymore in their institutes. They were not provided with any details or justification.”
An institute manager who attended the meeting anonymously confirmed that dozens of directors were present. Another senior employee revealed that institutes were given 10 days to complete final exams, leaving some managers in confusion over the lack of a formal written order.
Videos shared with the BBC showed female trainees weeping after receiving the news. One midwifery teacher in Kabul, who was told not to return to work until further notice, described the situation as devastating. “This was the only source of hope for the girls and women who were banned from universities,” the 28-year-old said.
Afghanistan’s health training institutes, which include over 150 private institutions, had been one of the last educational pathways available to women after the Taliban banned girls from secondary and higher education in 2021. Women now constitute the majority of the 35,000 students enrolled in these programs.
“What are we supposed to do with just 10 percent of our students?” asked an institute manager, referencing the male-female student ratio.
The United Kingdom’s charge d’affaires expressed grave concern over the reports, labeling the ban “another affront to women’s right to education” and cautioning that it would further restrict access to healthcare for Afghan women and children.
The international community has repeatedly condemned the Taliban’s policies on women’s education, with the United Nations accusing the regime of “gender apartheid.” If confirmed, this latest measure would mark a further erosion of women’s rights in Afghanistan and raise new fears about the country’s capacity to deliver critical healthcare services.
