Continued Burqa Restrictions in Herat Hospitals Spark Health Access Concerns for Women

While the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Herat announced the lifting of the ban on women entering hospitals without a burqa, local reports indicate that these restrictions remain in effect.

Restrictions on Patients Without Burqas

Local sources in Herat reported that Taliban forces are preventing patients who are not wearing burqas from entering the main hospital in the city. This has raised serious concerns about women’s access to healthcare services in the province.

A female doctor, reacting to this situation, shared her experience on social media. She wrote, “I also returned today… I wore a burqa to go in, just so I could work.” This statement highlights the intense pressure faced by female healthcare workers.

Contradictions in Taliban Orders

The enforcement of these restrictions stands in stark contrast to the announcement made last night by the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Herat, which claimed that the ban on women entering hospitals without a burqa had been lifted. However, this reversal lasted only a few hours, as reports emerged this morning of a female doctor being detained for not wearing a burqa at her workplace.

It is worth noting that the Taliban have also prohibited women from entering all of their affiliated offices in Herat, and these restrictions are now being strictly enforced at the city’s primary healthcare facilities.