GENEVA - Afghanistan faces a deepening health crisis driven by the Taliban's ongoing attack on the rights of women and girls and a sharp drop in international funding, a UN expert warned today.
In a new report to the UN Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, found the Taliban was systematically restricting access to healthcare for women and girls by imposing gender-oppressive policies, including limits on freedom of movement, the right to work, medical education, and the imposition of 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 fragile after decades of conflict, poverty, and underinvestment, as well as over-reliance on donor support. But the current crisis cannot be explained by those factors alone. Taliban policies have created new barriers that prevent women and girls from accessing essential services," the Special Rapporteur said.
Bennett expressed particular alarm over the ban on medical education for women, in place since 2024, and its long-term impact on the health sector.
"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. Unless it is reversed, it will lead to unnecessary suffering, illness, and death, and could amount to femicide," he said.
The expert stressed the massive cuts to international funding are also undermining life-saving programmes and seriously disrupting service delivery, stretching an already fragile system to breaking point.
"For women and girls, these cuts are turning an oppressive environment into a full-scale health catastrophe," the expert said. "Member states need to fulfil their responsibilities and act urgently to avert severe and long-lasting harm."
"Afghan health workers are showing extraordinary courage and commitment," Bennett said. "They care for their communities under extremely difficult conditions and increasing restrictions. The international community must stand with them, including by reversing funding cuts and committing to long term, flexible, and sustainable support."
The international accountability mechanisms on Afghanistan must investigate violations of the right to health and all forms of gender-based violence, including reproductive violence, the expert said.
"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 reverse course immediately and restore the rights of women and girls, by lifting restrictions on their freedom of movement, and allowing them to resume higher education, including medical education.
"Protecting the right to health in Afghanistan requires restoring the rights and dignity of women and girls," Bennett said.
