Taliban imposes burka for women at hospitals, MSF reports
Sarah Chateau, MSF’s programme manager in Afghanistan, noted that even women “in need of urgent medical care” had been turned away for not wearing a burka, saying Taliban members were stationed at hospital entrances to enforce the order
The Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have reportedly ordered that all female patients, caretakers, and staff must wear a burka - a full-body veil - to enter public hospitals in the western city of Herat, according to medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
The BBC, citing MSF officials, reported that the restrictions came into effect on 5 November and immediately led to a decline in hospital admissions, which have since "stabilised".
"[This] may partly be because some women have managed to return to the hospital after obtaining a burka," said Sarah Chateau, MSF's programme manager in Afghanistan. "However, we remain concerned [this] could further limit women's access to healthcare."
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A spokesperson for the Taliban government has denied MSF's account.
Chateau noted that even women "in need of urgent medical care" had been turned away for not wearing a burka, saying Taliban members were stationed at hospital entrances to enforce the order.
MSF, which supports paediatric services at Herat Regional Hospital, reported a 28% drop in admissions for urgent cases in the first few days of enforcement.
"Even though the veil edict was announced earlier, this is the first time we are seeing the enforcement of the burka in Herat," Chateau added.
"In the past few days, more and more women are coming to the hospital with burkas."
However, reports suggest that restrictions have been partially eased in recent days.
"I visited a few wards of the hospital, saw women in burkas, scarves and hijab," an unnamed local journalist told the BBC.
"I have noticed no restrictions on women who were entering the hospital - women were getting to the hospital with all sorts of previously common hijab, including burkas, were at the gate and inside. The situation is normal."
The Taliban's Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has rejected the reports, calling them "totally false."
"The position of the vice and virtue ministry is generally on the wearing of hijab," ministry spokesperson Saif-ul-Islam Khyber said.
"Hijab is interpreted differently in different parts of the country, most of which are in conflict with Sharia [law]."
Activists in Herat have claimed that Taliban guards have been enforcing the dress code for women entering hospitals, schools, and government offices over the past week. One activist told the BBC that women are being forced to wear burkas to gain entry.
Videos circulating on social media show some women burning burkas in protest against the Taliban's order, though the BBC has not independently verified the footage.
The Taliban previously enforced the burka during their first rule in the 1990s. Since retaking power in August 2021, the group has issued a series of decrees restricting women's rights, including banning them from most workplaces and universities and preventing girls from attending secondary school.
In 2022, the Taliban instructed women to wear an all-covering face veil in public, describing the decree as "advice". The United Nations has since condemned the Taliban's policies as "gender apartheid."
Last week, the UN temporarily suspended operations at a key border crossing between Afghanistan and Iran due to restrictions on its female Afghan staff. The crossing at Islam Qala, in Herat province, has been a critical route for hundreds of thousands of Afghans returning from Iran in the past year.
