Midwifery and nursing were the last two educational avenues for women in Afghanistan which have now been padlocked by the Taliban government, according to the BBC.
This poses serious questions as the United Nations said in 2023 that Afghanistan needs an additional 18,000 midwives to meet the needs of the country.
Women training in these avenues have said that they were ordered not to return to classes in the morning and while their statements have been corroborated by institutions in Afghanistan, the Taliban government’s health ministry has not issued a response.
The institutes say that the Taliban has instructed them to close until further notice.
Teenage girls have been unable to access education since 2021 despite the Taliban promising they would restart their education once the curriculum has been ensured as “Islamic”.
The only other way to seek some education was through midwifery or nursing – an important field since male doctors are not allowed to treat women unless a male guardian is present.
17,000 women are estimated to be training on these courses but what’s to happen next is unclear.
Trainees can be heard weeping in the videos sent to the BBC. “Standing here and crying won’t help. The Vice and Virtue officials [who enforce Taliban rules] are nearby, and I don’t want anything bad to happen to any of you,” a student tells others in one of the videos.
Another student said, “They even told us not to stand in the courtyard because the Taliban could arrive at any moment, and something might happen. Everyone was terrified. For many of us, attending classes was a small glimmer of hope after long periods of unemployment, depression, and isolation at home.”
Amu TV, an independent satellite television channel, quotes a 22-year-old who was studying midwifery, “I wanted to study law and become a judge or prosecutor in my country, but when schools and universities were shut to us, I turned to midwifery. Now, they’ve even taken that away. I’m watching my dreams die before my eyes,” she said.
According to the World Health Organisation, Afghanistan has one of the worst mortality rates in the world with 620 women dying per 100,000 live births.