UN Expert Warns Taliban Policies Driving Afghan Health Collapse

Richard Bennett said gender-oppressive Taliban policies are not only violating fundamental rights but are now pushing an already fragile health system toward collapse.

Afghanistan is facing a rapidly escalating health crisis fuelled by the Taliban’s systematic repression of women and girls and a steep decline in international funding, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan warned in a new report presented to the Human Rights Council today.

Richard Bennett said gender-oppressive Taliban policies are not only violating fundamental rights but are now pushing an already fragile health system toward collapse.

“Institutionalised System of Gender Discrimination”

The report finds that the Taliban is deliberately restricting women and girls’ access to healthcare by limiting freedom of movement, barring women from medical education, restricting their right to work, and enforcing strict gender segregation in health facilities.

“These policies are not isolated measures – they form an institutionalised system of gender discrimination that denies women and girls autonomy over their own bodies, health, and futures,” Bennett said. “They provide further evidence that the Taliban is committing crimes against humanity.”

Afghanistan’s health system was already weakened by decades of conflict, poverty and chronic underinvestment, with heavy reliance on foreign donor support. However, Bennett stressed that current conditions cannot be attributed to those factors alone.

“Taliban policies have created new barriers that prevent women and girls from accessing essential services,” he said.

Ban on Women’s Medical Education “Puts Entire System in Jeopardy”

Particularly alarming, according to the report, is the ban on medical education for women imposed in 2024. The prohibition effectively halts the training of future female doctors, nurses and midwives in a country where cultural norms often require women to be treated by female health professionals.

“The ban has effectively shut down the pipeline of new women health professionals. It is completely unjustifiable and puts the entire health system in jeopardy,” Bennett warned.

He cautioned that unless the ban is reversed, the consequences will include preventable illness and deaths and could amount to femicide — the systematic destruction of women’s lives through discriminatory policies.

Funding Cuts Deepen the Emergency

Compounding the crisis are massive reductions in international funding, which have undermined life-saving programmes and severely disrupted service delivery.

“For women and girls, these cuts are turning an oppressive environment into a full-scale health catastrophe,” Bennett said. “Member states need to fulfil their responsibilities and act urgently to avert severe and long-lasting harm.”

Clinics have reportedly scaled back services, health workers face unpaid salaries, and vulnerable communities are losing access to maternal, reproductive and emergency care.

Courage Under Pressure

Despite worsening restrictions, Afghan health workers continue to provide care under extremely difficult conditions.

“Afghan health workers are showing extraordinary courage and commitment,” Bennett said. “They care for their communities under extremely difficult conditions and increasing restrictions.”

He urged the international community to stand with frontline workers by reversing funding cuts and committing to long-term, flexible and sustainable support for Afghanistan’s health sector.

Accountability for Right-to-Health Violations

The Special Rapporteur called on international accountability mechanisms to investigate violations of the right to health and all forms of gender-based violence, including reproductive violence.

“When women and girls are denied education, mobility, and healthcare, the effects ripple through families and across generations,” Bennett said. “Denying women and girls their rights not only harms them – it threatens the country’s entire health system and its future.”

He called on the Taliban to immediately lift restrictions on women’s freedom of movement and allow them to resume higher education, including medical training.

“Protecting the right to health in Afghanistan requires restoring the rights and dignity of women and girls,” Bennett concluded.