Women in Afghanistan will be permitted to study and train in public medical institutes in a new bid by the Taliban to staff medical centers and hospitals to treat female patients.
The Taliban-run public health department has issued a directive saying “female high school graduates can enrol in state-run medical institutes”, according to the Taliban-run Bakhtar News Agency.
Recruitment drives are underway in the public medical institutes of Kapisa, Parwan, Panjshir, Maidan Wardak, Ghazni, Paktika, Logar, Khost, Badakhshan, Bamyan and Paktia provinces, Bakhtar said.
The Taliban immediately banned education for girls above grade six after taking control of Afghanistan in August 2021.
An attempt to reopen girls’ high schools took place in March 2022. The first day the students showed up for classes, the schools were abruptly closed again. There have been no attempts since.
The Taliban went on to ban girls and women from university and private educational institutes.
The fundamentalist group has also placed severe restrictions on women’s freedom, travel, clothing, and work.
However, the Taliban also enforces a strict segregation of women and men, including not allowing male doctors to treat female patients. This is the key reason some medical training of women is permitted.
Despite widespread national and international condemnation and warnings of the longterm risks for the society and country, the Taliban’s widespread ban on female education remains in place.
