Guardian Investigation: De Facto Ban on Male Doctors Treating Women Has Spread Across Afghanistan
A joint investigation published on November 12 by The Guardian and the Afghan outlet Zan Times found that, although the Taliban has never publicly announced such a restriction, a de facto ban on male doctors treating female patients has spread across Afghanistan. Interviews with women and doctors indicate the ban is being enforced by Taliban security forces through raids and warnings.
One case documented in the investigation took place in the western city of Herat, where a woman attending her third session at a dental clinic was told to go home and wait for a call. The clinic said an order had come from the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice stating that male dentists were no longer allowed to treat female patients. Three months on, her treatment remains unfinished. Dentists told the investigators that Taliban security forces raid clinics and warn male practitioners they will be imprisoned if female patients are found there.
According to the investigation, male doctors in most provinces have received orders not to examine female patients directly, with narrow exceptions such as the presence of the patient's male guardian (mahram) or having certain procedures performed by female nurses. In northern Balkh province, officials in May ordered all hospitals, private practices and clinics to use the word Bibi instead of women's actual names.
The restrictions compound the position of female health workers. Since December 2024, women have lost the right to study at medical institutes, doctors interviewed said hospitals had been banned from hiring female staff, and practising female doctors are required to have a mahram. In February, Taliban communications minister Hamdullah Nomani said male doctors would be considered mahram when treating female patients, but the testimonies gathered by the investigation run counter to that declaration. The investigation found no publicly announced Taliban document imposing the de facto ban.
(Source: The Guardian)
Source: The Guardian
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：阿富汗赫拉特街头身穿罩袍的妇女与孩子（资料图，已预裁为16:9横幅）。照片：Marius Arnesen，CC BY-SA 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Women in burqas with children on a street in Herat, Afghanistan (file photo, pre-cropped to 16:9). Marius Arnesen, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
