Afghanistan Times
Related Articles
KABUL—Mohammad Hassan Ghiasi, the Taliban’s deputy minister of public health for policy, asserted on Wednesday that Afghanistan is not experiencing a shortage of female healthcare workers, despite widespread criticism following the Taliban’s ban on women pursuing medical education.
“According to the statistics we have, there is no shortage of female healthcare personnel,” Ghiasi stated. “This is a national issue that our leadership has been carefully addressing, and we will share the outcomes with you soon.”
Ghiasi claimed that Afghanistan has nearly 30,000 trained midwives who are currently underutilized in the healthcare system. He announced that the Taliban is formulating plans to integrate these professionals into newly established healthcare centers, in line with what he described as “Islamic and Sharia principles.”
“We promise to utilize their expertise in appropriate roles within the healthcare system while adhering to religious guidelines,” he said, framing the situation as a “lack of coordination” rather than a significant healthcare crisis.
The Taliban’s ban on women’s medical education, however, has drawn sharp condemnation from global organizations, including the United Nations. Experts warn that Afghanistan faces a critical shortage of female healthcare workers, which poses a severe threat to maternal and child health—particularly in rural areas where female staff are crucial for providing culturally appropriate care.
Critics argue that the restrictions on women in healthcare risk further destabilizing Afghanistan’s fragile medical system, already strained since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. While Ghiasi downplayed the impact, international health experts caution that the lack of trained female professionals could have devastating long-term consequences for the country’s population.
