Afghanistan: New local requirement to wear a burqa limits access to care for women in Herat
After this sudden enforcement, MSF reports admissions at the pediatric unit of Herat regional hospital dropped 28 per cent.
Since Nov. 5, local restrictions have been implemented in Herat province requiring female patients, caretakers and staff to wear a burqa to enter public health facilities, including at Herat hospital. This sudden enforcement adds limitations to their participation in everyday life and puts additional barriers that affect women’s ability to access essential healthcare. Between Nov. 5 and Nov. 7, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), which supports pediatric services inside Herat regional hospital, has already observed a 28 per cent drop in admissions.
“These restrictions further impede women’s lives and limit women’s access to healthcare,” says Sarah Chateau, MSF program manager. “Female patients and caretakers are now barred from entering the hospital unless they wear a burqa, meaning that access to care is determined by clothing rather than medical need. Each restriction placed on women as patients translates into delayed or denied medical care. We know that this will have severe consequences for children and mothers who already face enormous barriers to accessing health services in Afghanistan.”
At the Islam Qala border crossing with Iran, humanitarian organizations are witnessing similar challenges while bringing care to returnees expelled from Iran. Out of more than one hundred female staff who previously worked there, only three – a midwife, a doctor and a nurse – are currently permitted to work, under strict conditions requiring them to wear a burqa at all times.
Many of the women expelled from Iran arrive in a fragile health and with limited access to hygiene and medical care, some are the head of their household. Having female staff to work with them at the border is essential.
“The combined effect of these restrictions in Herat and at the border is alarming,” says Chateau.
Since 2021, women in Afghanistan have been increasingly erased from public life. Women are barred from accessing secondary and higher education, working in many public and humanitarian roles, have limited access to healthcare and are excluded from public spaces.
