Afghanistan, December 4, 2024 (Punjab Khabarnama Bureau)-Afghanistan is planning to ban women from enrolling in nursing and midwifery courses, news agency AFP reported, citing senior staff at multiple institutions. The decision follows an edict from the Taliban’s supreme leader, the report added.
A health ministry official said the ban would exacerbate the challenges already faced by the country’s struggling healthcare system. “We are already short of professional medical and para-medical staff, which would result in further shortages,” the source told AFP.
While no formal announcement has been made, two officials from the ministry of health confirmed the ban to BBC Afghan unofficially. Videos shared with the BBC showed trainees at some institutes weeping over the news.
On Monday, health officials held a meeting in Kabul with heads of educational institutions to communicate the directive, an unnamed public health ministry official told AFP.
“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,” the official said. “They were not provided with any details and justification and were just told of the order of the supreme leader and were asked to implement it.”
An institute manager who attended the meeting anonymously confirmed that dozens of directors were present. Another senior employee stated that his centre’s leadership attended a separate meeting on Tuesday amid confusion over the rule.
The employee said institutes have been given 10 days to complete final exams, while some managers sought clarification from the ministry, and others continued operations in the absence of a written directive.
Summary: The Taliban plans to ban women from midwifery and nursing courses, further harming Afghanistan’s already struggling health sector