Taliban Instructs Teaching Hospitals to Segregate Male and Female Staff in Operating Rooms

The Taliban has directed teaching hospitals to prohibit mixed-gender medical staff in operating rooms, according to a document received by Afghanistan International.

The instruction, issued on Tuesday, 21 Dalu (Feb. 11), by Ehsanullah Abulfeizan, the Taliban's appointed head of Kabul Medical University, states that all personnel in the operating room must be of the same gender, regardless of the patient's gender. It applies to all teaching hospitals.

Medical sources in Kabul confirmed the issuance of the order to Afghanistan International.

The directive has raised concerns about the quality and adequacy of healthcare services following the gender segregation of surgical teams. Health observers noted that Afghanistan lacks sufficient female specialists, making the policy challenging.

One specialist physician explained that surgical teams include surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists, cleaners, interns and trainees, all of whom are essential in the operating room.

Another physician told Afghanistan International that, aside from gynecology and obstetrics, female specialists are very limited nationwide. He cited examples: only "two or three female neurosurgeons" across the country, no more than "five or six female specialists in ear, nose and throat," and shortages in orthopedics and plastic surgery.

This order comes amid broader restrictions. Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada issued a decree in Qaus last year (December 2023) banning girls from higher and mid-level medical education institutions, exacerbating concerns in a country facing a shortage of female healthcare workers. The Taliban has also closed schools above sixth grade and universities to girls.