ISLAMABAD: In southern Afghanistan, Taliban morality police have detained two doctors in Kandahar for treating female patients who were not accompanied by a male guardian, according to local medical sources and a report from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
The doctors were arrested over the past four days in private clinics in the Hazrat Ji Baba area of Kandahar after continuing to treat women despite repeated warnings from officials of the Taliban's Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the sources said.
Medical workers said morality officers regularly visit clinics, hospitals and pharmacies across Kandahar and instruct doctors not to examine or treat women unless they are accompanied by a mahram or male guardian.
Under the policy, women arriving alone must either be turned away or wait until a male relative arrives, according to healthcare workers.
“The morality officers come almost every day asking about women’s examinations, male doctors’ work, and even our beards and clothing,” one doctor said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of security concerns. “We are under immense pressure and do not know what to do.”
Healthcare workers said inspections also focus on personal appearance, including beard length, hairstyles and clothing considered by Taliban authorities to be Western in style.
“The morality officers tell doctors they must grow beards,” said one healthcare worker, identified by the pseudonym Ahmad. “If someone’s beard is trimmed or shaved, they are treated harshly, insulted and threatened.”
Clinic managers said morality officers patrol different parts of the city daily to inspect private and public health facilities.
'Where should they go?'
Doctors warned the restrictions could have severe consequences for women’s health in Kandahar, where female specialists are in short supply, and many women rely on male doctors for treatment.
“Many women do not have a male guardian, so where should they go?” one doctor said. “There are very few female doctors in Kandahar, and most women rely on male doctors. If this is stopped, health problems will increase seriously.”
In its latest quarterly report released Tuesday, UNAMA said Taliban morality officers in Kandahar, Uruzgan and Paktia had instructed health centers not to treat women without a male guardian.
The report also documented detentions and mistreatment linked to clothing, beard trimming and listening to music and said female healthcare workers had been ordered to travel only with a male guardian.
