UN Expert Warns of Deepening Women’s Health Crisis in Afghanistan

UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett says current restrictions have drastically limited Afghan women’s access to healthcare, further weakening an already fragile system.

Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, has warned that women and girls face severe restrictions in accessing healthcare since the Taliban’s return to power. The report highlights how bans on education, employment and freedom of movement have intensified the health crisis.

The findings are based on group discussions and individual interviews with 137 people across 29 provinces, 17 written submissions and survey data from over 8,000 women in 33 provinces. The report presents one of the most comprehensive recent assessments of women’s right to health in Afghanistan.

According to the report, the Taliban’s return has significantly curtailed women’s independent decision-making over their own bodies and medical needs. Without urgent international engagement, Afghanistan faces a deeply concerning trajectory in women’s public health.

It further notes that women’s healthcare is largely confined to maternal and reproductive issues, while chronic illnesses, mental health and preventive care remain neglected. Patriarchal norms and economic dependency often delay treatment until illnesses become critical.

Since regaining control in August 2021, the Taliban have imposed sweeping restrictions on women’s education, employment and mobility, drawing widespread international condemnation. Afghanistan remains one of the few countries where girls are barred from secondary and higher education.

Healthcare access is particularly limited in rural and remote areas, where long distances to clinics, lack of transport, high treatment costs and shortages of female medical staff pose serious barriers. Examination by male health workers is often considered inappropriate, further discouraging women from seeking care.

The report underscores that poverty, discrimination, disability, ethnicity, religion and lack of identification documents compound these challenges. The UN expert calls for immediate global action to safeguard Afghan women’s fundamental right to health and prevent further deterioration.

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