UN Special Rapporteur Warns Taliban Policies on Women Fueling Health Crisis in Afghanistan
Richard Bennett, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Afghanistan, has warned that the restrictive policies imposed by the Taliban administration against women and girls could lead the country into a serious health crisis. On Monday, March 8, he stated that depriving women of education and healthcare services will have widespread and dangerous consequences.
According to Bennett, women and girls are currently barred from accessing education and key healthcare sectors, a situation that not only violates their fundamental rights but also weakens the capacity of the country’s health system. He emphasized that continuing this trend will result in “suffering, illness, and unnecessary deaths,” and even increase the risk of femicide.
The UN Special Rapporteur has called on the Taliban administration to immediately lift the restrictions imposed on women and to enable girls’ access to education, particularly in medical fields. He believes that preventing girls from studying health-related subjects exacerbates the shortage of female specialists and poses serious challenges to delivering healthcare services to women.
International organizations have previously warned that the systematic removal of women from educational and professional spheres has made Afghanistan’s social structure and public services vulnerable. Under such circumstances, the continuation of the Taliban’s restrictive policies not only constitutes a clear violation of women’s human rights but also poses a serious threat to the future of the country’s healthcare system.
