Human Rights Commissioner calls on Afghanistan to abolish the ban on women studying medicine

Spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani added that this ban is part of a long series of state-backed discriminatory measures that target women and girls in areas including education and work, and threaten the country’s future.

The spokeswoman said: This measure is discriminatory and short-sighted, endangers the lives of women and girls in many ways and deprives them of the only remaining path to access to higher education. She stated that this would exacerbate the severe shortage in the number of midwives, nurses and doctors.

This will make women more vulnerable, especially given the restrictions on them receiving health care from male medical personnel unless a male relative is present. The spokeswoman noted that Afghanistan witnesses one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. She stressed the importance of the presence of women in the health sector.

Raveena Shamdasani said that all these measures, taken by men without any transparency or involvement of stakeholders, clearly aim to exclude women and girls from public life. She added that the de facto authorities in Afghanistan assume actual power and responsibility for the well-being, security and safety of the entire population.

High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged the de facto authorities to rescind these harmful instructions. He stressed that the time has come to guarantee the rights of women and girls in line with Afghanistan’s international human rights obligations.