Few places in Afghanistan are run by women. Public life and business are dominated by men, and since the Taliban has taken over, more women have disappeared from view. While some say they are stuck in conservative social structures that rarely allow them to take control, others fear draconian new rules, travel bans and education.
But behind the walls of several women-run hospitals in Kabul, there is a different reality: here, women are saving lives every day, offering marriage advice, caring for and adopting abandoned children. Many of the doctors and nurses working here have raised children and often remain the sole financial backers of their families. And everyone agrees: things work better when women run the show.
Dr Mariam Maksudi says he manages to combine work and caring for four children at home because he loves his job
“We actually had a few men who worked here before the Taliban took power, but because it’s mostly a maternity hospital, they kicked them out. “Women work for women today,” Jagona Faisley, a gynecologist, told the Guardian. She is the mother of “three beautiful daughters”, whose husband is a father who stays at home, covers her regular night shifts.
“He is the strongest man I have ever met because he is against the norms of society here,” she said. “We married for love and I would choose him again every day.”
Faisley, 31, says her position at the hospital has allowed her to speak openly and get to know both patients and staff.
“There is no man to see, so I feel free in this hospital. Many of the women who come here tell me about the difficulties in their marriage. I try to give them advice and counsel; I try to help where I can. ”
That’s not all women do. Mariam Maksudi, a 29-year-old permanent doctor, says that as the number of abandoned newborns in hospitals has risen – possibly due to the economic crisis in Afghanistan – they have set up an “adoption committee” to ensure babies are cared for.
“We register families who can’t have children and would like to adopt, and if we can’t find a family for babies, one of our staff usually adopts,” she said, adding: “It’s sad. We recently had a little boy whose his mother died in childbirth, and his father escaped without being taken home. We take care of every child to be taken care of. ”
Dr. Gazanfar Shaharbanu visits maternity hospital in Kabul, where he heads the neonatal ward Photo: Stephanie Glinski / The Guardian
Up to 100 children a day are born at Maksudi’s hospital – doctors have asked for the clinic’s name to be omitted for security reasons – and at least 140 female staff are in charge of all operations.
“I have four children myself and I miss them during the day, but I tell them that I have an important job. When the Taliban took power, 12 of our hospital’s doctors left the country.
Women are crucial to ensure that the health care system continues to function Eloi Filion, ICRC
“We were all afraid and most of us wanted to leave,” Maksudi added, “but we are still here, saving lives.”
It was hard. Women say they feel pressured by the Taliban. After the Islamist takeover in August, many medics stayed at home for weeks, too scared to go to work. Slowly, most of them returned to work. “We keep pushing,” Faisley said. “Even the Taliban know they need us.”
Women-run seats are now even rarer in a country run by an all-male government that has removed women from public office since August and continues to ban older girls from getting an education.
A quiet moment for 26-year-old Negina and her newborn second child, a boy named Yasser
As the Taliban struggles to form a functioning government, criticism of Afghanistan’s new leaders is widespread. Human Rights Watch accused them of imposing policies that violate rights and create huge barriers for women.
For months after the Taliban’s takeover – and the subsequent freezing of Afghanistan’s central bank’s reserves abroad – doctors and other medical personnel across the country have not been paid, even though they have worked full time.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) recently took over the salaries of thousands of health workers – men and women – across Afghanistan.
Midwifery students learn from gynecology teacher Nasina Frutan during a class in Kabul Photo: Stephanie Glinski / The Guardian
Eloi Filion, head of the ICRC delegation to Afghanistan, said: requires you to travel long distances, to work in health facilities that are struggling to function.
“Women are crucial to ensure that the health system continues to function. Without them, the health care system simply would not work. “
However, many women in healthcare say their future is uncertain. “Most girls in Kabul are not yet in high school, so what opportunities will my daughters have here?” Faisley said, adding: “Afghanistan is no longer a place where I can imagine a future for my children.
“We run the show at this hospital – and we can do it anywhere. We are leaders – including the future leaders of this country. “
Sign up for Her Stage to hear directly from amazing women in the developing world about the issues that matter to them, which are delivered to your inbox every month:
Sign up for her scene – please check your spam folder for confirmation email
Add Comment