Afghan women are still living a miserable life under the interim Taliban regime in their country.
According to UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric, one woman dies during childbirth every two hours in Afghanistan.
The country has one of the world's highest mother-and-child mortality rates, with 638 women dying per 100,000 births, as per a World Health Organisation (WHO) report. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) warns of 51,000 additional maternal deaths, 4.8 million unintended pregnancies, and the loss of family planning clinics by 2025, the report says further.
The global health organisation says women in Afghanistan lack basic health facilities, raising fears of increased maternal and child mortality. The growing risks of underage marriages and forced marriages of women to terrorists have increased alarmingly, according to the UNFPA.
Furthermore, international news outlet AlJazeera reports that Incidents of violence against male doctors examining women have steadily increased, while hospitals and clinics are being ordered to allow only female staff to cater to female patients.
According to the WHO, there is a severe shortage of healthcare professionals in Afghanistan. There are only 4.6 doctors, nurses, and midwives for every 10,000 Afghans, nearly five times less than the standard level.
The return of the Taliban in August 2021 exacerbated the health crisis, reported the Voice of America. The medical field for women has been severely affected, due to which they face huge restrictions on basic life rights and education.
For every 100,000 children born in remote areas, 5,000 maternal deaths have increased to an alarming level, the WHO reported. Women have to use mountainous paths to reach hospitals, some even dying on the way, as per the Voice of America.
Because access to public hospitals is impossible, women are forced to get their own medication to give birth, the news outlet reported further. A child delivery costs about 2,000 in Afghan currency ($29), which is beyond the means of many families, the VOA said.
Due to high delivery charges, 40% of Afghan women give birth at home and 80% in remote areas, according to Voice of America.
Before the Taliban takeover in 2021, there were 23 state-sponsored centres for women survivors of violence in Afghanistan, which have been closed under the current administration. The Taliban government considers women's health unnecessary and calls it a Western concept.
