Translated with AI
Afghanistan has decided to recognize male doctors as "mahrams"—that is, guardians—of the female patients they treat. This was announced by Taliban Communications Minister Hamdullah Nomani at a meeting with medical workers in Kabul, Fergana.ru reports, citing Amu.tv.
According to Nomani, in the context of clinical practice, doctors are granted a special religious right to examine parts of a woman's body that are otherwise inaccessible to male strangers.
"As a minister, I don't have the right to look at a woman's face. But you have the right: when a woman lies on your operating table, all her organs are in front of you, and you are even allowed to remove her clothes," the minister said, urging people not to abuse this right.
Nomani also assured that “all theologians hold the same point of view.”
The minister's statement comes against the backdrop of a ban on women receiving secondary and higher education, including medical education, introduced in December 2024.
Meanwhile, international organizations warn that barring women from medical education will further exacerbate the already significant burden on Afghanistan's healthcare system. Even before the Taliban's return to power, the country was experiencing a severe shortage of female doctors and health workers, particularly in rural areas, where cultural norms often dictate that women be treated exclusively by female specialists.
After seizing power in August 2021, the Taliban banned girls from receiving secondary and higher education and sought to curtail other women's rights and freedoms as much as possible. Specifically, they officially banned women from playing sports, walking in parks, appearing in public places without a male escort, going out without a hijab, talking to other women, praying, and reading the Quran aloud. The Ministry of Women's Affairs was abolished. In its place, the Taliban established the Ministry of Propaganda of Islamic Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
