Afghanistan cricket superstar Rashid Khan and other international players Mohammad Nabi and Rahmanullah Gurbaz on Thursday called upon the Taliban government to review the ban on medical education and training for women in the country.
“The country desperately needs professionals in every field, especially in the medical sector. The acute shortage of female doctors and nurses is particularly concerning, as it directly impacts the healthcare and dignity of women. It is essential for our sisters and mothers to have access to care provided by medical professionals who truly understand their needs. I sincerely appeal for the reconsideration of this decision so that Afghan girls may reclaim their right to education and contribute to the nation’s development. Providing education to all is not just a societal responsibility but a moral obligation deeply rooted in our faith and values,” Rashid Khan said.
Appealing to the Taliban government, Rashid Khan emphasised that “education holds a central place in Islamic teachings, emphasising the pursuit of knowledge for both men and women. The country desperately needs professionals in every field, especially the medical sector.” He requested the Taliban to pay attention to the Holy Quran, which “highlights the importance of learning and acknowledges the equal spiritual worth of both genders.”
On December 2, Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada issued a directive stopping women from attending medical and semi-professional institutes. The Taliban government has already barred girls from secondary education past sixth grade in September 2021 before closure of colleges in 2022.
“The Taliban have also banned women in some provinces from being treated by male medical professionals, which means that this new decree, halting the training of new female healthcare workers, will result in unnecessary pain, misery, sickness, and death for the women forced to go without health care, as there won’t be female healthcare workers to treat them,” the Human Rights Watch reported on December 3.
The Taliban’s decision is likely to worsen the conditions where Afghanistan is already facing dire shortage of medical professionals. “Now with this new ban, women are left to reproduce and then die on the same table because there will be nobody to help them,” said Pashtana Durrani, founder of Learn Afghanistan, an organisation operating secret schools and maternal health clinics.
