Taliban ban women from nursing and midwifery training

[claratheskivvy]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy3l1035nlo.amp

Women have now been banned from attending their nursing and midwifery courses at university.

Female patients are only allowed to be attended to by a female unless accompanied by their male escort. This means that thousands of women will now be giving birth by themselves if they can't find a midwife, which are already in short supply. Afghanistan has the highest rate of maternal mortality in the world.

DH and I were discussing this recently. I said that surely even Taliban could see the economic consequences of these policies. He said that they just don’t care. The only thing that matters is ideology. It’s heartbreaking to see pictures of young women in Western dress in Afghanistan in the 1960s/70s.

If by “nurse” you mean castrate them with a couple of bricks while administering a boiling saline enema, I’m willing to volunteer. 🤷🏻‍♀️

In all seriousness, there was a discussion on R4 earlier about whether to withdraw UK aid to Afghanistan in response to the Taliban’s treatment of women. The gov response was that aid was distributed by the UN anyway (not Taliban) and withholding it would make ordinary lives worse. I accept this is probably true, but can’t help wondering whether the international community would be quite so “meh” 🤷🏻‍♀️ if the apartheid was against any other group.

Even if you consider women as equivalent to animals, which many of the Taliban apparently do, why would you want high maternal mortality which would involve the deaths of many male babies? It’s completely illogical even by their own view of the world, let alone everyone else’s.

What?

I know. It’s all so cruel and senseless.

I wonder if aid needs to be stopped.
How much worse can things get, we are propping up these shit s and I assume men are still much freer.

So they need to do something.

Very backwards mentality

Um I didn't thanks. No need to be rude.

If I wanted to control women then this is the first thing I would have done. That and closing the beauty industry. The Taliban have played a blinder.

Midwives are good at grass roots action and can organise well in times of crisis. There is a massive underground network of midwives who mobilised well during the fall of khabul. I imagine they are extremely subversive and annoying to the Taliban, who do not need to worry about running g out of brood mares women for another 30 or 40 years.

It’s crap how restricting aid is offered as a solution to put pressure on countries (that or war which is even worse), as it’s the civilians who suffer most with that. When has restricting aid ever actually worked? Is there any evidence at all of it bringing about the intended change?

Men will be freer but also afraid as to what the Taliban will do to them as well.

@InWithPeaceOutWithStress I don't know but the situation is surely beyond desperate and aid fills in cracks.
Unfortunately I wonder what would happen to let it crack?
Desperation forces change.

@derxa sure but freer to mobilise.

What have you read that suggests male doctors are allowed to treat women?

This is an excellent point. Evocative of midwifery and witchcraft often being linked (by ignorant fucking men) historically. Denying women midwifery denies them being at the heart of lots of homes. This is about fear and control and anybody naive enough to hope it’s about progress is essentially an apologist for a return to the dark ages.

It isn't really "backwards". Throughout history and in all cultures there has always been those trained to help women in childbirth.

This is a fucked up experiment devised by someone who really hates women

The Taliban has its roots in the mujahideen, but are worse than they were. . More barbarous and mud thick. The mujahideen were trained and armed by the US. Intended as a counter to the USSR.

So they are ultimately a western creation

Do you mean rise up against the Taliban.
I need to stop watching the news. I’m actually in despair this evening.

Yes.

Agreed. Once they come for the midwives you know it’s all gone to hell. They are the one person almost everyone on earth meets at least once in their life. They are an excellent comms network amongst women too.

I think all aid should cease. Stop propping them up. Let them lead there biblical lives.

Unbelievable. And totally nonsensical surely even for them? They need women to survive childbirth in order to have the next generation of taliban men?

It is heartbreaking how little they value women. I cannot wrap my head around it. Surely some of them must have wives, mothers, daughters and sisters who they love? Animals are treated better than this.

For how many women will pregnancy now be seen as a death sentence? How many children will now be left motherless when a woman has subsequent children?

So many preventable deaths of women and children. This is beyond cruel.

As a Muslim woman, I hope these bastards die slow painful deaths and rot in hell for the misery they are causing.

Presumably women can't access birth control, so birth rates must be quite high even factoring in deaths. The husband will just give any surviving baby to a female relative to look after in the event of maternal death and just get another wife in the event of the death of both mother and child.

It's also going to affect healthcare for all women as nurses aren't being allowed to continue training either. Women will ultimately not be able to access any healthcare whatsoever unless a male relative allows it and accompanies the woman to be seen by a male doctor.

Babies will die and suffer serious injury too, male
and female. There are no words.

It's like a mix of dystopia and horror. My brain is struggling to comprehend what is happening. Coupled with the lowering of the age a girl can be married, there will be many children, girls, dying a horrific death. How is this happening in the 21st century? It beggars belief.

I heard many women are committing suicide in Afghanistan and honestly no wonder. If we feel helpless on the outside, imagine how helpless they must feel.

I'm sure they'll address the declining female population issue with further atrocities and further crimes against humanity.