The Taliban have repeatedly promised that they will be readmitted to schools once a number of issues are resolved – including ensuring that the curriculum is “Islamic”.
This has not happened yet.
One of the few avenues still open to women who wanted to get an education was through the country’s further education colleges, where they could study to become nurses or midwives.
Midwifery and nursing are also among the few professions that women can practice under the Taliban government’s restrictions on women – vital as male medics are not allowed to treat women without a male guardian present.
Just three months ago, The BBC gained access to one midwifery training center run by the Talibanwhere more than a dozen women in their 20s learned how to give birth.
The women were happy to have the opportunity to study.
“My family is so proud of me,” said an intern named Sophia. – I left my children at home to come here, but they know that I serve the country.”
But even then, some women expressed concerns that even this might eventually be stopped.
What will happen to these women – and an estimated 17,000 more women on the training courses – is unclear.
No official statement has been made, although two sources at the Ministry of Health confirmed the off-the-record ban to BBC Afghan.
Students can be heard crying in videos sent to the BBC from other training colleges.
“Standing here and crying isn’t going to help,” a student tells a group of women in one video. “Officials from Vice and Virtue (who enforce Taliban rules) are close by and I don’t want anything bad to happen to any of you.”
Other videos broadcast by the BBC show women quietly protesting as they leave colleges and chanting as they make their way down corridors.
One Kabul student said she was told to “wait until further notice”.
“Even though it’s the end of our term, the exams haven’t been held yet and we haven’t been given permission to take them,” she told the BBC.
Another student said that they were “only given time to pick up their bags and leave the classrooms.”
“We were even told not to stand in the yard because the Taliban could come at any moment and something could happen. Everyone was horrified,” she said. “For many of us, attending classes was a small glimmer of hope after long periods of unemployment, depression and isolation at home.”
What this means for women’s health remains to be seen: Last year The United Nations has said Afghanistan needs an additional 18,000 midwives , externalto meet the needs of the country.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Afghanistan already has one of the worst maternal mortality rates in the world.
Additional reporting by BBC Afghan
