Afghans concerned over crisis in health sector due to ban on women working

Ghor: The local residents of Ghor Province, Afghanistan have warned that if the Taliban-led Health Ministry keeps ignoring the ongoing crisis in the healthcare sector in Ghor province the patients will die. The already critical situation has worsened due to the Taliban’s ban on women working as there are no female doctors or caretakers for patients, the Khaama Press reported quoting local sources.

The Khaama Press reported quoting a resident of Tolak District, Obidullah who complained about the shortage of medicine and healthcare facilities at the district’s clinic. He said to Hasht-e-Subh that in previous years, patients used to get several medicines from the clinic, which has now been cut short.

Notably, this may be because of the winter in the province resulting in snowfalls that block the key roads that connect the Ghor to other major cities like Kabul and Herat blocking any possible help.

There is also a major scarcity of female doctors and genealogy specialists that need to be addressed. The Khaama press report further mentions according to sources, only two female doctors serve at the provincial hospital of this province. Obstetric and gynaecological patients do not get the proper treatment and face serious risks while giving birth.

Prior to this United Nations International Rescue Committee (IRC), a New York-based human rights organization working in Afghanistan, has decided to pull out from the country after the Taliban’s decision to ban female NGO workers last month.

“Without the female staff at all levels and across all sectors, we cannot deliver principled, needs-based aid and programs at scale for those hit hardest by this crisis. The challenges hold true for every sector of the humanitarian response, not only for programs related to protection, gender-based violence and women’s empowerment,” IRC said in a statement on January 5.

And in yet another effort to lift the ban Top UN diplomat in Afghanistan met Taliban-appointed education minister Mohammad Nadeem in Kabul on Saturday and called for the urgent lifting of the bans on female education and work for aid agencies.

“Afghanistan is entering a new period of crisis. Taliban bans on female education & work for aid agencies will harm all Afghans. UN envoy Potzel Markus called for the urgent lifting of the bans in a meeting today with de facto authorities’ Minister Higher Education, Moh. Nadeem,” United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said in a tweet.