UN experts condemn Taliban ban on medical training for Afghan women – JURIST

UN experts issued a strong rebuke on Monday against a new Taliban policy banning female students from medical training in Afghanistan, which has been denounced for further eroding the rights of women and girls in the country. United Nations Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan Richard Bennett emphasized, “Barring female students from education at medical institutions will do immense harm to all the population.”

The UN experts described the ban as an “inexplicable, totally unjustifiable blow” to Afghan women and girls, warning it will “constitute yet another direct assault” on women and girls’ rights and futures. The decision is expected to worsen the country’s existing healthcare crisis, potentially leading to increased “suffering, illness, and deaths” among women and children.

The United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) also condemned the directive, issued by the Taliban’s supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, as “profoundly discriminatory and short-sighted.” OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani criticized the measure for removing “the only remaining path for women and girls towards higher education,” which would further deplete the already insufficient number of female healthcare professionals.

The international community has expressed similar condemnation, urging a reversal of the policy.

The ban adds to a series of sweeping restrictions imposed on women and girls since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in August 2021. These measures have severely limited women and girls’ education, employment, and access to public spaces. However, efforts to establish mechanisms for redress are currently being debated in international fora.

This comes as a coalition of human rights organizations focused on Afghanistan issued a statement on the rollback of women’s rights in Afghanistan, highlighting the decline in women and girls’ rights and expressing deep concern over policies that exclude women from public life, impose bans on education and employment, and restrict movement. Key demands include urgent measures to support women’s rights in Afghanistan, inclusion of women in decision-making processes, safe asylum for refugees, protection of freedom of expression, enhanced support for women human rights defenders, and recognition of gender apartheid as an international crime.