‘Lives at risk’: Women’s medical training ban threatens Afghan health sector

‘Lives at risk’: Women’s medical training ban threatens Afghan health sector
From her private hospital in Afghanistan’s capital, doctor Najmussama Shefajo predicts a rise in maternal mortality rates “within three or four years“. (AFP)
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Updated 13 December 2024
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‘Lives at risk’: Women’s medical training ban threatens Afghan health sector

‘Lives at risk’: Women’s medical training ban threatens Afghan health sector
  • From her private hospital in Afghanistan’s capital, doctor Najmussama Shefajo predicts a rise in maternal mortality rates “within three or four years“

KABUL: From her private hospital in Afghanistan’s capital, doctor Najmussama Shefajo predicts a rise in maternal mortality rates “within three or four years,” following the latest restrictions on women’s education.

The Taliban’s supreme leader is reportedly behind a ban on women studying midwifery and nursing at training institutes across the country, already among the worst in the world for deaths in childbirth.

“We may not see the impact very quickly but after three to four years we will see the maternal mortality rate go up and up,” said Shefajo.

“People will for sure have more babies at home. But what about complications? What about operations? Many procedures cannot be done at home.”

Since the Taliban government banned women from universities two years ago, Shefajo has been giving on-the-job medical training, including in midwifery and nursing.

But she said she doesn’t have the capacity or facilities to take on every woman keen to learn in her hospital, despite no shortage of volunteers.

“Midwifery and nursing are like the two wings of the doctors; if the bird doesn’t have wings, it cannot fly,” she added, ducking behind curtains to treat patients.

Already Afghanistan is facing a “desperate shortage of trained health care workers, especially women,” according to the UN children’s agency UNICEF.

No official notice has been issued by the Taliban government, but health ministry sources and managers of training institutes said this month that they had been told to block women from classes.

Restricting medical training is the latest action against women’s education since the Taliban authorities swept to power in 2021, imposing rules the United Nations has called “gender apartheid.”

“In a country where women and children depend on female health professionals for culturally sensitive care, cutting the pipeline of future health providers would put lives at risk,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement.

Training institutes had ensured women would continue to learn health care skills, such as midwifery and nursing, or laboratory work, pharmacy and dentistry.

The ban would impact about 35,000 women studying at medical training centers, according to a figure from a health ministry source.

“We are concerned about the effects on the already fragile health care system,” said Achille Despres, spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Afghanistan, where the organization offers health services and training.

International NGO Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which runs some of its busiest maternity hospitals in Afghanistan, also warned of the consequences of the ban, given that the nation’s “medical needs... are huge.”

“There is no health care system without educated female health practitioners,” country representative Mickael Le Paih said in a statement.

Afghanistan and MSF already face a dearth of obstetrician-gynaecologists (OB-GYNs) in a country with high fertility rates where women often have children from a young age, Le Paih told AFP.

And demand is only likely to increase, he added, as almost half of Afghanistan’s population is under 15 years old, according to a 2022 health ministry report.

“You can imagine the impact in several years’ time when you will have a large number of women reaching childbearing age,” he said.

The ban will undoubtedly further strain access for the 70 percent of the population living in rural areas.

After news of a ban spread last week, some training facilities closed their doors immediately, while others rushed to hold final exams and graduations, as still others said they would open as normal after the winter break unless they received a written order.

Shefajo and others want to provide online lessons, but say the lack of practical experience would be detrimental to learning.

Hadiya, 22, recently finished her first year studying midwifery, after having been forced to quit computer science studies at university and English courses.

“We may have midwives now, but medicine is changing every day... and it is clear that the situation in Afghanistan in the field of child and mother health is getting worse,” Hadiya told AFP.

“It’s like we’re in a cage, all the girls are thinking of finding a way to leave here so we can at least continue our studies and reach our goals,” she said.

“When I see the situation in Afghanistan, I think no child should be born here.”


‘Hard truth’: UK becoming an unsafe destination, warns uncle of slain Saudi student

Mohammed Yousef Al-Qassem, 20, was killed in Mill Park, Cambridge last Friday in what police described as an “unprovoked attack.
Mohammed Yousef Al-Qassem, 20, was killed in Mill Park, Cambridge last Friday in what police described as an “unprovoked attack.
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‘Hard truth’: UK becoming an unsafe destination, warns uncle of slain Saudi student

Mohammed Yousef Al-Qassem, 20, was killed in Mill Park, Cambridge last Friday in what police described as an “unprovoked attack.
  • Mohammed Yousef Al-Qassem, 20, was stabbed to death in ‘unprovoked attack’ last week
  • ‘Britain is becoming a symbol of lawlessness, insecurity and government failure,’ uncle tells The National

LONDON: Britain is losing its reputation for being a safe education and travel destination, the uncle of a Saudi student who was stabbed to death in Cambridge has told The National.

Mohammed Yousef Al-Qassem, 20, was killed in the city’s Mill Park last Friday in what police described as an “unprovoked attack.” 

He was on a 10-week placement course at EF International Language Campuses Cambridge, a private English-language school.

Chas Corrigan, 21, was charged with murder and possession of a knife in a public place.

Majed Abalkhail, Al-Qassem’s uncle, said family members have traveled to Cambridge to repatriate his body.

“Mohammed’s father is in Cambridge, accompanied by some of his brothers, to follow up on the procedures for bringing Mohammed home, in coordination with the Saudi Embassy,” he added.

In comments to The National, Abalkhail conveyed his “deep frustration and growing anger” over the state of law and justice in Britain.

The country, long viewed by Saudis as a top destination for education and tourism, is quickly gaining a reputation for lawlessness and insecurity, he said.

“People from various countries, including many in the Arab world, are seriously rethinking any plans to visit or study in the UK,” Abalkhail added.

“This is the hard truth being spoken in private conversations and social circles — and it’s time it was said out loud.

“Britain is rapidly losing its global reputation, not just as a center of education, but even as a travel destination.

“Sadly, Britain is becoming a symbol of lawlessness, insecurity and government failure, and this perception is spreading fast among people of all backgrounds.”

He paid tribute to the deceased and said the 20-year-old, a “calm, kind-hearted young man,” had dreamed of becoming a doctor.

Al-Qassem’s killing follows the fatal stabbing of 19-year-old Mohammed Afzal in the town of Bury last week.

Abalkhail said the fatal attacks reveal a “dangerous environment plagued by theft, stabbings and violent crime” in Britain.

Al-Qassem’s school said it is “deeply saddened” by his death.

Various police statistics, particularly those for London, have shown a rise in crime in recent years, amid growing public anger over the state of law and justice in the country.

In the year to March 2025, authorities recorded 6.6 million crimes, up from 4.2 million a decade ago.

There were 22,000 knife-related crimes in the same period, a notable increase from 14,000 in 2015.

In 2024, there were almost 17,000 knife offenses, a figure that has almost doubled in a decade.


Russia arrests man accused of passing satellite secrets to US

Russia arrests man accused of passing satellite secrets to US
Updated 39 min 27 sec ago
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Russia arrests man accused of passing satellite secrets to US

Russia arrests man accused of passing satellite secrets to US

MOSCOW: A man accused of passing Russian satellite secrets to the United States has been arrested for suspected treason and placed in pre-trial detention, a court in the Russian city of Kaliningrad said on Wednesday.

The court, in a statement on Telegram, identified the suspect only as “O” and said he was a former employee of a company producing electronic engines for space satellites.

It said he was suspected of collecting and storing information about the firm’s technology on behalf of US intelligence services between July 2021 and December 2023.

The man was placed in detention until September 30, the court said. The charge of high treason carries a potential sentence of life imprisonment.


Pakistan starts deporting registered Afghan refugees, says UNHCR

Pakistan starts deporting registered Afghan refugees, says UNHCR
Updated 57 min 25 sec ago
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Pakistan starts deporting registered Afghan refugees, says UNHCR

Pakistan starts deporting registered Afghan refugees, says UNHCR
  • Many Afghans have been settled in Pakistan since the 1980s, to escape cycles of war in Afghanistan

PESHAWAR: Pakistan has started to deport documented Afghan refugees ahead of its deadline for them to leave, according to the United Nations, in a move that could see more than 1 million Afghans expelled from the country.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said that it had received reports of arrests and expulsions of legally registered Afghans across the country before Pakistan’s September 1 deadline for them to leave.

The UNHCR said that sending the Afghans back in this way was a breach of Pakistan’s international obligations.

“UNHCR is calling on the government to stop the forcible return and adopt a humane approach to ensure voluntary, gradual, and dignified return of Afghans,” it said in a statement.

The voluntary return of the documented refugees shall commence forthwith, said a Pakistan’s interior ministry order seen by Reuters. It said the formal deportation process will start after the deadline.

But Qaisar Khan Afridi, a spokesman for the UNHCR, told Reuters on Wednesday that hundreds of legally registered Afghan refugees had already been detained and deported to Afghanistan from August 1 to August 4.

The interior ministry did not respond a Reuters request for a comment.

More than 1.3 million Afghans hold documentation known as Proof of Registration cards, while 750,000 more have another form of registration known as an Afghan Citizen Card.

Many Afghans have been settled in Pakistan since the 1980s, to escape cycles of war in Afghanistan.

“Such massive and hasty return could jeopardize the lives and freedom of Afghan refugees, while also risking instability not only in Afghanistan but across the region,” UNHRC said.

Pakistani authorities have said that Islamabad wants all Afghan nationals to leave except for those who have valid visas.

The repatriation drive by Pakistan is part of a campaign called the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan launched in late 2023.

Pakistan has in the past blamed militant attacks and crimes on Afghan citizens, who form the largest migrant group in the country. Afghanistan has rejected the accusations, and has termed the repatriations as forced deportation.

In addition to the repatriation from Pakistan, Afghanistan also faces a fresh wave of mass deportations from Iran.

Aid groups worry that the influx risks further destabilising the country.


Cambodian workers flock home from Thailand after clashes

Cambodian workers flock home from Thailand after clashes
Updated 58 min 58 sec ago
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Cambodian workers flock home from Thailand after clashes

Cambodian workers flock home from Thailand after clashes
  • A total of some 1.2 million Cambodian migrants have been living and working in Thailand

PHNOM: Hundreds of thousands of Cambodian migrant workers have returned from Thailand following deadly border clashes between the two neighbors, a labor ministry official told AFP on Wednesday.

Cambodia and Thailand agreed on a ceasefire starting from Tuesday last week after five days of clashes killed at least 43 people on both sides when a long-standing dispute over contested border temples boiled over into fighting on their 800-kilometer (500-mile) boundary.

Huge numbers of returning workers and their families streamed through the Ban Laem-Daung border post between Thailand’s eastern Chanthaburi province and Battambang in Cambodia on Wednesday.

Most were laden with belongings — suitcases, backpacks, heavy bags, blankets and electric fans — as they trudged on foot through the crossing.

Cambodia’s labor ministry spokesman Sun Mesa said more than 750,000 Cambodians, including children, had returned since clashes broke out on July 24.

“They feel unsafe and scared in Thailand,” he said, adding that there were reports that Cambodian migrants were attacked by “gangsters.”

There was no separate confirmation of the total of 750,000. A Thai immigration officer told AFP the official figure was “confidential” but said “there are many crossing back.”

Thai media reports quoted the head of the Thai-Cambodia Border Trade and Tourism Association of Chanthaburi as saying more than 200,000 Cambodians had crossed back.

The group said on its Facebook page that about 20,000 crossed on Tuesday and about 30,000 were expected to cross on Wednesday.

A total of some 1.2 million Cambodian migrants have been living and working in Thailand, Sun Mesa said.

Cambodia’s defense ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata said on Wednesday the situation remained calm along the Thai border and “our forces are on high alert.”

Officials from Cambodia and Thailand began meetings in Malaysia on Monday aimed at de-escalating border tensions.

Nearly 300,000 people fled their homes as the two sides battled with jets, rockets and artillery along the rural border region, marked by a ridge of hills surrounded by wild jungle and agricultural land where locals farm rubber and rice.


Pope Leo criticizes nuclear deterrence on 80th anniversary of Hiroshima bombing

Pope Leo criticizes nuclear deterrence on 80th anniversary of Hiroshima bombing
Updated 06 August 2025
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Pope Leo criticizes nuclear deterrence on 80th anniversary of Hiroshima bombing

Pope Leo criticizes nuclear deterrence on 80th anniversary of Hiroshima bombing
  • Leo’s predecessor Pope Francis changed the Church’s teaching to condemn the possession of nuclear arms

VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo on Wednesday criticized the “illusory security” of the global nuclear deterrence system, in an appeal on the 80th anniversary of the United States dropping an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima at the end of the Second World War.

Leo, the first US-born pope, said in his weekly audience that the destruction in Hiroshima, which killed about 78,000 people instantly, should serve “as a universal warning against the devastation caused ... by nuclear weapons.”

“I hope that in the contemporary world, marked by strong tensions and bloody conflicts, the illusory security based on the threat of mutual destruction will give way to ... the practice of dialogue,” said the pontiff.

While the Catholic Church for decades gave tacit acceptance to the system of nuclear deterrence that developed in the Cold War, Leo’s predecessor Pope Francis changed the Church’s teaching to condemn the possession of nuclear arms.

Francis, who died in April after a 12-year papacy, also strongly backed the UN treaty to ban nuclear weapons, which formally went into force in 2021 but has not gained support from any of the nuclear-armed nations.

Leo’s appeal on Wednesday came hours after representatives from 120 countries, including the US, attended an annual ceremony in Hiroshima to mark the atomic bombing.

Among those attending the ceremony was a delegation of Catholic bishops from Japan, South Korea and the US including Cardinals Blase Cupich of Chicago and Robert McElroy of Washington, D.C.

“We strongly condemn all wars and conflicts, the use and possession of nuclear weapons and the threat to use nuclear weapons,” the bishops said in a joint statement on Wednesday.