Women hold rally outside Taliban governor’s office in Herat to protest ban on medical education

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Amu: A group of women and girls staged a protest outside the Taliban governor’s office in the western province of Herat on Thursday, decrying the recent ban on female participation in medical education. Chanting slogans like “education is justice and learning,” the demonstrators described the directive as oppressive and a blow to their basic rights. The Taliban’s decision to bar women from studying at medical institutions, including midwifery programs, has drawn widespread condemnation from international organizations, human rights groups, and former Afghan officials. Click here to read more (external link).

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Afghanistan Freedom Front Targets Convoy Of Taliban’s Intelligence Forces

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Afghanistan International: The Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) announced that on Tuesday evening, it targeted the convoy of intelligence forces of the Taliban in Khair Khana area of Kabul. This front published a video and claimed that five Taliban members were killed in this attack. Click here to read more (external link).

UNESCO recognizes Rubab as cultural heritage for Afghanistan, neighbors

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Amu: The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has inscribed the art of crafting and playing the rubab as an Intangible Cultural Heritage, recognizing Afghanistan and its neighbors Iran, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Rubab is one of the oldest musical instruments in Central, South, and Southwest Asia. Crafted from dried mulberry wood collected in deserts, rubab holds a cherished place in the region’s cultural heritage. Click here to read more (external link).

Afghan women banned from pursuing medical education

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Ayaz Gul
VOA News
December 3, 2024

ISLAMABAD — Taliban authorities in Afghanistan are reported to have banned medical schools from admitting female students, removing the last remaining opportunity for women to pursue higher education.

The decree issued by the reclusive Taliban leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, took effect Tuesday, a day after it was communicated at a meeting in Kabul of heads from all medical institutions, officials and participants told VOA. They spoke anonymously because they were told not to discuss the matter publicly.

Taliban officials have not yet commented on the alleged ban or the meeting that took place Monday in the Afghan capital.

Human rights advocates and foreign diplomats have condemned the directive they say will deprive millions of women of essential health care services, including midwives, female nurses, and health workers, in the male-dominated Afghan society where the Taliban have prohibited male doctors from treating women.

“I am deeply concerned about new reports that the Taliban will deny medical education to women in Afghanistan,” Robert Dickson, the charge d’affaires of Britain’s diplomatic mission to Kabul, wrote on the X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter.

“This is another affront to women’s right to education and will further restrict access to health care for Afghan women and children,” said the British diplomat.

Since regaining control of Afghanistan in 2021, the radical Taliban have banned female university education, and girls are not allowed to attend schools beyond the sixth grade. Afghan women also are prohibited from working in all sectors except for a few, including health care, immigration, and police.

The de facto Afghan government defends its policies, saying they are aligned with the Taliban’s interpretation of Islamic law, known as Sharia.

Social media videos posted Tuesday showed Afghan girls lamenting the ban on their enrollment in health institutes.

In one of the videos recorded after being denied entry to their medical school, a group of female students could be heard telling Taliban officials that “women should be provided with poison to ensure their peaceful demise.”

VOA could not independently confirm the authenticity of the video.

“This decision denies countless young women the opportunity to pursue careers in medicine, a field where they have historically played a vital role, particularly in providing healthcare to women and children,” a statement from Afghanistan Women and Children Strengthen Welfare Organization, which advocates human rights, said Tuesday on X.

“The ban further cripples Afghanistan’s already fragile healthcare system, which relies heavily on female medical professionals to address the needs of its population. With maternal mortality rates among the highest in the world, the absence of female healthcare workers will have catastrophic consequences for women’s health,” it added.

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Prosecutor Of ICC Seeks Arrest Warrant For Taliban

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Afghanistan International: Following the referral of Afghanistan’s case to the International Criminal Court, the court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, announced that he would soon request arrest warrants for Taliban officials. He said that investigations into human rights violations, particularly women’s rights, in Afghanistan were ongoing. Click here to read more (external link).

China Deepens Its Engagement With Taliban-Ruled Afghanistan

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The Diplomat: China’s key interests in Afghanistan are security related. It aims to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven for terrorists who threaten its interests and those of its partners in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). In particular, China wants to ensure that Uyghur separatists do not find sanctuaries in Afghanistan. Additionally, China intends to extract Afghanistan’s untapped resources and expand its geopolitical influence. As a neighbor and rising power, China also wants to make an economic contribution to improving the living standards of the Afghan people. Click here to read more (external link).

Cerebral palsy remains largely undiagnosed in Afghanistan, ICRC reports

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Amu: Cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that affects two to three of every 1,000 children worldwide, remains severely underdiagnosed in Afghanistan, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a recent report. The report highlights a dire shortage of diagnostic resources and specialized healthcare professionals, leaving many Afghan children suffering in silence as their condition is frequently misdiagnosed. The challenge is particularly acute in rural areas, where access to specialized care is limited. Click here to read more (external link).

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