KABUL — Taliban have shut down at least 11 health science institutes in Kabul for providing training to women and girls, according to several sources familiar with the matter.
The closures were ordered by the Taliban-run Ministry of Public Health, the sources said, and targeted institutes that offered basic medical and first-aid education to female students.
A photograph of a closure notice, shared with Amu TV, states that the institutions were closed “due to lack of permission” from Taliban authorities, and that the order was effective from the 2nd of Sawr 1404 in the solar calendar (21 April 2025).
The move marks an escalation in the Taliban’s sweeping restrictions on women’s education, which have already barred girls and women from most secondary schools and universities across the country.
In a joint statement, several private health institutes condemned the closures, calling knowledge — and medical education in particular — a fundamental need. “We urge the authorities to reopen the doors of education to all students,” the statement read.
While Taliban have yet to comment officially, similar actions were previously foreshadowed by Taliban officials. In a meeting last year, Taliban Health Minister Noorjalal Jalali reportedly conveyed an oral directive from the Taliban’s leadership banning the enrollment of women in medical training institutes. He warned administrators that their institutions would no longer be allowed to admit female students.
Human rights advocates have denounced the decision as part of a broader campaign of repression. Some activists describe the Taliban’s gender policies as a form of “gender apartheid” and have called on the international community to formally recognize it as such.
“Taliban are turning daily life into a kind of hell for Afghan women,” said one rights defender, who asked not to be named for security reasons.
