Afghanistan faces a deepening health crisis for women as systematic restrictions imposed by the Taliban government strip them of access to essential medical services, raising fears of a future in which female patients may be unable to obtain basic care. The grim trajectory stems from a combination of educational bans, worsening poverty, and strict gender segregation policies that together erode a fragile healthcare system already struggling with chronic shortages and insecurity.
In a recent letter, Dr. Carol Mann, president of the Paris-based organisation Femaid, warned that the effective exclusion of women from medical education and employment will soon leave Afghan women without any healthcare providers available to treat them. She said that under current Taliban policies, universities and medical schools train only male students because girls and women are barred from studying or working beyond rudimentary primary education. As the existing cadre of female doctors, nurses and midwives age and retire, there will be no new female healthcare professionals to replace them. Because female patients are often not permitted to be treated by male clinicians under conservative interpretations of gender segregation, this could amount to a collapse of women’s medical care in the near future.
The situation has been exacerbated by spiralling poverty and societal pressures that drive families to marry off young girls, sometimes as young as 12, in exchange for dowries, further diminishing opportunities for education and long-term wellbeing. Dr. Mann described the unfolding scenario as a form of “gender apartheid” and warned that global silence on the issue has allowed it to worsen unchecked.
Human rights organisations have repeatedly criticised the Taliban’s decision last year to ban women from attending medical and nursing schools. These moves closed one of the last pathways through which women could participate in professional life and sustain a pipeline of female health workers, at a time when the country’s healthcare infrastructure is already dangerously thin. The Taliban’s supreme leader issued the order through the Ministry of Public Health, abruptly ending women’s access to crucial training in midwifery, nursing, dentistry and laboratory sciences. International agencies, including Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières), have pointed out that excluding women from medical education undermines maternal and general healthcare throughout the country, especially given the cultural barriers that limit interaction between male clinicians and female patients.
Experts say the consequences are already being felt. Afghanistan has one of the world’s highest maternal mortality rates, with roughly 620 deaths per 100,000 live births recorded before the Taliban’s takeover — far above global averages, and even higher today as access to skilled birth attendants dwindles. Reports from aid organisations and health workers indicate that women endure long treks to reach distant facilities, often requiring male escorts to pass Taliban checkpoints, and many arrive too late to save mothers or newborns.
The crisis is compounded by broader economic collapse and cuts to international aid, which had propped up key health services in many provinces. Clinics have closed, supplies are limited, and thousands of trained female practitioners — once a lifeline for women’s health — are nearing retirement without successors. As Afghanistan’s generation of female medical professionals fades, so too may the prospects for women’s health care if current policies remain in place.
