Devastating Impact: Women’s Hospital Visits Drop 28% in Herat Following Taliban Burqa Mandate

The organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) announced that after the Taliban’s order mandating the use of the burqa for women and girls in Herat, the number of women visiting the organization’s hospitals in that province has decreased by 28 percent…

Sudden Order of Promotion of Virtue and Decrease in Visits

The organization Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) reported on its website about the severe impacts of the Taliban’s new order in Herat province on women’s access to health services. The organization stated that after the hijab (burqa) became compulsory for women, the number of female patients visiting its hospitals in Herat has significantly decreased.

Some women from Herat have told the media that for about ten days now, the Department of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice of the Taliban has instructed women and girls not to leave home without wearing the burqa.

The Direct Impact of Restrictions on Basic Services

Doctors Without Borders emphasized in its statement that this sudden announcement from the Taliban adds another restriction on women’s participation in daily life.

The statement also noted that this decision further increases the existing barriers; barriers that have limited women’s access to essential health services. The organization’s studies show that between November 5 and 7, the number of women visiting the hospitals of Doctors Without Borders decreased by 28 percent. This figure reflects the direct consequences of the Taliban’s restrictions on the physical and mental health of women in Herat.

Continuation of Severe Restrictions on Women’s Lives

Since regaining control over Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban have imposed severe and ongoing restrictions on almost all aspects of Afghan women’s and girls’ lives, from education to daily mobility and work. These restrictions have consistently been met with widespread criticism and protests from international human rights organizations.