The humanitarian and human rights crisis in Afghanistan has reached a new critical point. According to a joint investigation published on November 12, 2026, by the British newspaper The Guardian and the Afghan outlet Zan Times, women are being literally ordered to “go home” from hospitals and clinics because of a de facto ban preventing male doctors from examining or treating them.
🩺 How does this ban work?
Although the Taliban authorities have not issued a written decree nationwide, the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice has enforced the measure in practice.
* Accelerated expansion 📍: The restriction began in September 2025 in Kandahar (initially targeting male dentists) and is now being enforced in hospitals and clinics in at least 14 provinces, including Kabul, Herat, Balkh, and Nangarhar.
* Raids and threats 🚔: Inspectors and security forces conduct raids on health centers, warning male doctors and dentists that they will be imprisoned and their clinics shut down if they treat women without a male family escort (mahram) or the involvement of a nurse.
⚠️ Devastating health consequences
The direct impact of this measure leaves millions of women completely unprotected at critical moments:
* Interrupted treatments 🦷: The investigation documents cases such as Farida’s, a 37-year-old woman in Herat whose dental implant treatment was stopped halfway through—even though she had paid for it—and who was told to return home.
* Life-threatening emergencies 🚨: Surgeons at public hospitals reported that the ban is enforced even in medical emergencies, regardless of the patient’s condition.
* Shortage of female doctors 👩⚕️: With medical training institutes for women closed in December 2024, the shortage of female healthcare workers makes it impossible to meet the country’s medical needs.
🌍 A silent emergency
Although Taliban spokespeople had assured the public months earlier that the health sector would be exempt from gender restrictions, the reality in hospitals shows otherwise. With no access to male doctors and no new cohorts of female doctors, Afghanistan’s healthcare system is forcing women to face illness and emergencies completely abandoned.
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