The Taliban banned women from studying in medical institutions

This was one of the last permitted professions for Afghan women - the country has strict laws against beggars

The Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Haibatullah Akhundzada, the current leader of the Islamist Taliban movement, by his decree banned women in the country from attending higher and secondary medical schools. This was reported by the news portal Amu TV.

“The Afghan Ministry of Health has informed health officials that girls are no longer allowed to study at these institutions,” the militants said in a statement.

The head of the Afghan Ministry of Health added that as of December 3, women and girls are prohibited from even attending medical institutes and technical schools.

Medical institutions were one of the last places where Afghan women could receive any kind of education after the Taliban came to power in 2021. There they could train to become obstetricians, pharmacists, physiotherapists, dermatologists, nurses and dentists.

At the same time, strict laws on “begging” have recently come into force in the country. As Afghan women left without men told The Guardian, because of this the Taliban arrest, rape and kill poor women - although they are actually prohibited from working due to a ban on most paid work imposed by the Taliban itself.

“If women are not trained as health workers, the mortality rate of mothers and children in remote areas will increase. There will not be enough doctors to provide services to women patients.

Those NGOs that provide services in remote provinces and areas continue to face a shortage of doctors, midwives, nurses and other female staff,” said a senior Afghan health official, who requested anonymity.

EU authorities condemned the Taliban's decision, calling the move a flagrant violation of human rights and an unjustified attack on women's access to education:

“The European Union expresses its deep concern at this decision and its far-reaching consequences, including the deepening of the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and the deepening suffering of its people,” the secretariat said.

For several years now, women in Afghanistan have been prohibited from holding government positions, receiving higher education, working in international and local NGOs, participating in any sporting events, moving outside their homes without a male relative, etc.

At the end of August, the Taliban banned women from speaking in public, showing their faces outside the home, singing and reading aloud, actions considered “vice.” The Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice reported that the Taliban have detained thousands of people for non-compliance with Sharia law since taking power.

In November, the State Duma introduced a bill that would remove the Taliban from the list of terrorist organizations. After the document is adopted in the Russian Federation, it will be possible to exclude organizations (or, as stated in the bill, “temporarily suspend the ban on activities”) from the list of terrorist organizations if they “stopped carrying out activities aimed at promoting, justifying and supporting terrorism.”

The court can make such a decision based on a statement from the Prosecutor General's Office. Representatives of such organizations are not required to attend the consideration of the claim.

Earlier, FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov confirmed that the Russian Federation is completing its consideration of the issue of removing the Taliban from the list of terrorist organizations. According to him, the actions of the militants are “aimed at establishing order and maintaining stability” in Afghanistan.