The announcement from the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan to bar women from studying in medical institutes will have far-reaching consequences on women’s health in the country.

This is another stage in the removal of women from public and professional life. The insufficient number of female healthcare workers in the country already impacts the availability of healthcare in Afghanistan, especially given the separation of male and female hospital wards. New constraints will further restrict access to quality healthcare and pose serious dangers to its availability in the future.

“There is no healthcare system without educated female health practitioners,” says Mickael Le Paih, MSF’s country representative in Afghanistan. “In MSF, 50 per cent of our medical staff are women. The decision to bar women from studying at medical institutes will further exclude them from both education and the impartial provision of healthcare.”