UN Expert Warns Women’s Rights Restrictions Could Trigger Health Crisis in Afghanistan

A UN human rights expert warns restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan risk worsening the health crisis and causing preventable deaths.

Richard Bennett, the UN Human Rights Council’s Special Rapporteur for Afghanistan, says policies restricting women are creating a serious health crisis in the country.

Bennett said on Monday that women and girls have increasingly been deprived of access to healthcare services and education. He warned that these policies could lead to suffering, illness, and unnecessary deaths, and may even amount to femicide if restrictions continue.

Bennett also called for the removal of limitations on women and urged authorities to allow girls to resume education, particularly in medical fields.

Since 2021, sweeping restrictions have been imposed on women and girls in Afghanistan, including bans on secondary and university education in many areas.

Human rights organizations say the decline in female health workers has limited women’s access to medical care in a country already facing a fragile health system.

Bennett stressed that denying women their rights not only threatens their lives but also risks undermining Afghanistan’s already strained healthcare system.

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