Erasing Half a Nation
Betrayed and abandoned, Afghan women confront a future without education or healthcare as the Taliban seeks to eliminate them from public life
History is filled with brutal regimes that sought to control and divide. Nazi Germany targeted Jews in a campaign of extermination. Saddam Hussein oppressed Iraq’s Shia population to maintain power. But even within the grim archives of authoritarianism, the Taliban have distinguished themselves with a singularly devastating policy: waging apartheid against half of Afghanistan’s population—its women.
In a move that cements their intent to eliminate women from public life, the Taliban are reportedly shutting down medical education for women, one of the few remaining opportunities for learning and service. Despite earlier bans on education for girls above sixth grade, some women had continued their studies in nursing and midwifery programs, a critical stopgap in a country where male doctors are forbidden to treat female patients. Now, even that limited access to education and medical care is under attack.
This decree, if carried out, will further isolate already desperate Afghan women, essentially placing them under house arrest. It will also create a healthcare crisis of unimaginable proportions. Women denied access to education cannot become healthcare providers, and women forbidden from seeing male doctors will have no one to turn to. Confined within the walls of the home, preventable deaths will rise as childbirth becomes even more dangerous, with midwifery reduced to untrained and unsanitary practices.
This is the latest chapter in a grim saga of broken promises. In 2020, the United States and its envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, brokered the Doha Agreement, promising that the Taliban would uphold basic human rights and prevent Afghanistan from regressing into chaos. Instead, the country has become the only one in the world where education is explicitly denied to half the population based on gender. It remains an epicenter of terrorism and ranks among the worst in the world on nearly every quality-of-life metric.
What has been gained from this agreement? Afghan women were assured by the United States and its allies that their progress would not be sacrificed on the altar of Western interests. Now, they find themselves abandoned, their freedoms extinguished. How much more suffering must occur before the world recognizes the gravity of this crisis?
Yet Afghan women are not surrendering to this oppression. Across the country, women are organizing underground healthcare networks, defying the Taliban’s orders to meet the needs of their communities. My friend Zahra*, a doctor in Kabul, continues to offer medical care free of charge to the women around her. She is part of an informal coalition or “sisterhood” of healthcare workers—nurses, midwives, and dentists—sharing resources and strategies to ensure that Afghan women are not entirely cut off from lifesaving services. She told me:
"Unfortunately, as a doctor, I foresee a grim future for women’s healthcare in Afghanistan, with preventable deaths among mothers and women continuing to rise. Despite these challenges, Afghan women and female doctors have shown immense courage, working together as a team to provide care. We are committed to serving women, even while hidden from the eyes of this oppressive regime. Day and night, we collaborate and offer medical advice, determined to fulfill our duty with faith and conscience. We will never stop trying to make a difference."
These unimaginably brave acts of civil disobedience are inspiring, but they should not be necessary. The global community has a moral obligation to act. Expressions of outrage must be accompanied by concrete measures: targeted sanctions, diplomatic pressure, and financial and logistical support for the grassroots efforts that sustain Afghan women in these dark times.
The Taliban’s actions are a dark reminder of what is at stake—of the lengths they will go to to seize power and irreparably harm women and girls in the process. The terror group’s actions are nothing short of an attempt at femicide. This regime has blood on its hands. Afghan women are not asking for charity; they are demanding the basic rights to education, healthcare, freedom, and, most importantly, the right to live. The question for the rest of us is whether we will respond to this call—or stand by as an entire gender is erased from public life.
*Ideas Beyond Borders uses pseudonyms to protect our partners in Afghanistan
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