Quote:On November 5, 2025, in Herat, Afghanistan, the Taliban imposed a new edict requiring women to wear a burqa before entering public hospitals. Women patients, visitors, and even medical staff must now wear a burqa to be allowed inside any public healthcare facility. A burqa is a full-body covering that leaves only a small mesh screen to see through, and it is neither rooted in religion nor traditional Afghan culture.

Under the Taliban regime, women’s access to healthcare was already severely affected by restrictive policies, movement bans, and the closure of clinics due to funding cuts. These barriers have long left women unable to seek basic medical care. The new restrictions only deepen the crisis, adding yet another layer of hardship for Afghan women who are already confined to their homes and pushed to the margins of society. The forced burqa mandate further erases Afghan women’s visibility, pushing women into even greater invisibility.

A woman in Herat shared, “This is suffocating for us.” Since the forced burqa mandate took effect, Herat has already seen a 28% drop in patient admissions for urgent care. In just one week, the number of women accessing healthcare facilities has fallen sharply.

(Nov 22 2025, 10:48 AM)Wrongtoy As I pointed out over there, only weeks ago we were being told that women couldn’t be treated at all, and if so them allowing deliveries to be done under cover of niquab is technically a small improvement.

(Nov 22 2025, 11:44 AM)Impress Polly

(Nov 22 2025, 10:48 AM)Wrongtoy As I pointed out over there, only weeks ago we were being told that women couldn’t be treated at all, and if so them allowing deliveries to be done under cover of niquab is technically a small improvement.

...Pfff, ha ha ha ha ha! After reading the title and noticing that the setting was Afghanistan, I visited this thread JUST to see the Wrongtoy response and it did not disappoint. 

(Nov 22 2025, 3:49 PM)Wrongtoy I didn’t feel bullying at her response. I’m really mostly exasperated. I have mad suspicions when western powers that be bear down with the latest hostile state (again) with the world’s worst woman problem. What are we supposed to do? Restart our war there?

Like I said, back when the earthquake happened there were reports that women wouldn’t be seen no matter what they were wearing. Before that were reports that female doctors and midwives were told to stop coming to work. This latest report says women can reenter hospitals in niquab, which is objectively better than not at all. It also indicates that the taliban may be shifting toward allowing women more of a role when it comes to midwifery, which could lead to a similar thaw on women in early childhood education. Said thaw won’t likely be due to an Underground Railroad but more the government preventing one by installing a female trustee class tasked with medically helping, educating, and informing on any women who get uppity over the matter.

(Nov 22 2025, 3:55 PM)Wrongtoy I didn’t feel bullying at her response. I’m really mostly exasperated. I have mad suspicions when western powers that be bear down with the latest hostile state (again) with the world’s worst woman problem. What are we supposed to do? Restart our war there?

Like I said, back when the earthquake happened there were reports that women wouldn’t be seen no matter what they were wearing. Before that were reports that female doctors and midwives were told to stop coming to work. This latest report says women can reenter hospitals in niquab, which is objectively better than not at all. It also indicates that the taliban may be shifting toward allowing women more of a role when it comes to midwifery, which could lead to a similar thaw on women in early childhood education. Said thaw won’t likely be due to an Underground Railroad but more the government preventing one by installing a female trustee class tasked with medically helping, educating, and informing on any women who get uppity over the matter.

Quote:I have mad suspicions when western powers that be bear down with the latest hostile state (again) with the world’s worst woman problem. What are we supposed to do? Restart our war there?

Quote:Like I said, back when the earthquake happened there were reports that women wouldn’t be seen no matter what they were wearing. Before that were reports that female doctors and midwives were told to stop coming to work. This latest report says women can reenter hospitals in niquab, which is objectively better than not at all.

Quote:Said thaw won’t likely be due to an Underground Railroad but more the government preventing one by installing a female trustee class tasked with medically helping, educating, and informing on any women who get uppity over the matter.

(Nov 22 2025, 7:54 PM)Clover

(Nov 22 2025, 3:55 PM)Wrongtoy I didn’t feel bullying at her response. I’m really mostly exasperated. I have mad suspicions when western powers that be bear down with the latest hostile state (again) with the world’s worst woman problem. What are we supposed to do? Restart our war there?

Like I said, back when the earthquake happened there were reports that women wouldn’t be seen no matter what they were wearing. Before that were reports that female doctors and midwives were told to stop coming to work. This latest report says women can reenter hospitals in niquab, which is objectively better than not at all. It also indicates that the taliban may be shifting toward allowing women more of a role when it comes to midwifery, which could lead to a similar thaw on women in early childhood education. Said thaw won’t likely be due to an Underground Railroad but more the government preventing one by installing a female trustee class tasked with medically helping, educating, and informing on any women who get uppity over the matter.

Well, I suppose I'm glad you didn't feel bullying. I'm still figuring out the "right way" to moderate this forum; I feel like allowing slights against other members to follow through into other discussions unprompted is not a type of behavior I want to promote.

Quote:I have mad suspicions when western powers that be bear down with the latest hostile state (again) with the world’s worst woman problem. What are we supposed to do? Restart our war there?

Definitely not, I hope. Regardless of what potentially the ulterior motives of "the powers that be" are when they publish such articles, I think it's important to keep records of institutional misogyny in all forms. A government enforcing women to adorn the most restrictive and oppressive articles of clothing in order to get medical care is institutional misogyny.

Quote:Like I said, back when the earthquake happened there were reports that women wouldn’t be seen no matter what they were wearing. Before that were reports that female doctors and midwives were told to stop coming to work. This latest report says women can reenter hospitals in niquab, which is objectively better than not at all.

Okay, I remember. Isn't the difference between this and that earthquake emergency misogyny was that they were refusing to allow women to be rescued from under the rubble (only male rescue crews allowed due to misogyny, males cannot touch women due to misogyny, therefore women dying from lack of rescue)? I cannot recall about the hospital situation during that time. Regardless, I am confused on how there would be a drop in female admissions to urgent care after this niquab law was enacted if the current situation is "better"? If the current situation was "better", wouldn't it have lead to an increase in female admissions? Surely women would prefer to be seen in a hospital under a misogynistic repressive dress than just stay at home..? There must be more going on, then, and that statistic implies to me things are getting worse.

Quote:Said thaw won’t likely be due to an Underground Railroad but more the government preventing one by installing a female trustee class tasked with medically helping, educating, and informing on any women who get uppity over the matter.

Okay, now I understand what you meant better when you were referring to a class of "Aunt Lydias," I suppose. It's honestly super depressing to think about, so I try not to, not gonna lie. Basically like the "house slave" phenomena for women...

The male taliban are not going to be such idiots that they’ll just allow their future children—especially male—to expire rather than tolerate female midwifery. Men don’t want to do that or, frankly, childcare or childcare education. They could very logically delegate these roles to a female trusted class of past educated females whose choice here is to go along with the aunt Lydia role….or they’ll find someone else.

I first spoke out over all this because certain feminist organizations were actually promoting western contacts hook up as mentors to minor girls in Afghanistan. This is not a regime that will excuse that. They’ll just execute the child and then what? The donor just redirects to South Sudan as that didn’t work out?

Helping more women survive overall unfortunately means working with this government as I’m sure all in country female msf and other relief workers know.