The Taliban have issued a new directive ordering teaching hospitals across Afghanistan to fully segregate male and female medical staff in operating rooms, a move that health professionals warn will further weaken an already strained healthcare system. The Taliban enforced the same policy when they were in power in the late 1990s until they were removed from power in 2001.
Under the order, all members of a surgical team must be of the same sex, regardless of the patient’s gender. The directive applies to all teaching hospitals and was confirmed by medical sources in Kabul.
The letter was issued by the Taliban-appointed head of Kabul Medical University, who stated that “the patient’s gender will not be the criterion; rather, during surgery, all personnel must be of the same sex”.
Health sector observers say the policy raises serious concerns about the delivery of timely and adequate medical care, particularly given Afghanistan’s severe shortage of female medical specialists. A surgical team typically includes surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, interns, cleaners, and trainees, roles that cannot easily be filled within a single-gender framework
Doctors speaking to Afghanistan International said that outside of obstetrics and gynecology, the number of female specialists in Afghanistan remains extremely limited. One specialist noted that there are only two or three female neurosurgeons in the country, no more than five or six female ear, nose, and throat specialists, and significant shortages in fields such as orthopedics and plastic surgery
The directive comes amid policies that have systematically restricted women’s access to medical education. In December 2024, Taliban leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada ordered the closure of higher and semi-higher medical education institutions to girls, further narrowing the pipeline of future female healthcare workers in a country already facing critical shortages
For Afghan women, the consequences of these policies are particularly severe. As women face increasing barriers to being treated by male doctors, limits on female medical staffing risk delaying surgeries, reducing access to specialized care, and leaving some patients without treatment altogether. Health professionals warn that these restrictions could be life-threatening in emergency situations.
The latest order also comes as international attention returns to the state of women’s health in Afghanistan. Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, is expected to present a report on the right to health for women and girls at the upcoming session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on February 26
Bennett has said the report will focus on access to healthcare for women and girls, an issue that has drawn increasing concern since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 and imposed sweeping restrictions on women’s education, employment, and mobility.
As Afghanistan’s healthcare system continues to operate under mounting constraints, medical professionals and rights advocates warn that policies such as gender segregation in operating rooms should not be treated as isolated measures, but part of a broader pattern that undermines women’s access to essential services and places additional strain on an already fragile system.
