A Bird May Sing In Kabul, But A Girl May Not In Public: Meryl Streep Reminds World At UN

Highlighting the "erasure of women" from public life, United Nations Women recently underscored the mental health crisis among women in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Alison Davidian, the UN Country Representative, detailed in a report on August 13 that the “three years’ worth of countless decrees, directives and statements targeting women and girls" have stripped women of their fundamental rights, autonomy, and access to healthcare and other basic facilities.

United Nations General Assembly Takes Notice Of Afghan Women

At an event in New York at the United Nations General Assembly, Meryl Streep strongly voiced her opinion and concern about the plight of women in Afghanistan. The Hollywood legend took the stage and brought attention to the regressive restrictions and bans placed on women in Afghanistan. She voiced how cats would have more freedom in Afghanistan than women. 

"A squirrel has more rights than a girl in Afghanistan today because the public parks have been closed to women and girls by the Taliban. A bird may sing in Kabul, but a girl may not in public. This is extraordinary. This is a suppression of the natural law,” as she raised awareness about the condition of women’s rights in Afghanistan at an event in New York.

Rising Mental Health Concerns

Davidian stated that the Taliban's atrocities against women have raised a mental health crisis in Afghanistan. “Three years ago, the world was watching a takeover that was live-streaming horror after horror,” she said. "And three years later, while the world’s attention may have turned elsewhere, the horrors have not stopped for Afghan women and girls, but nor has their conviction to stand against the oppression."

Davidian underscored the wiping out of women from positions that give them autonomy. "To date, no woman in Afghanistan is in a leadership position anywhere that has influence politically, either at national or provincial levels. When women are engaged in the Taliban’s structures, their roles are largely to monitor compliance of other women with their discriminatory decrees.”

She emphasised the seriousness of the situation stating, "To give some context, three years ago an Afghan women could technically decide to run for president. Now, she may not even be able to decide when to go and buy groceries. Now, I’m not saying that three years ago it was perfect. It was not perfect, but it wasn’t this.”

Doctors and human rights organisations have noticed a high rise in suicides among women since the Taliban came back to power. The UN Women data also revealed an escalating mental health crisis linked to the loss of rights. About 68% of women reported having “bad” or “very bad” mental health and 8% said they knew at least one other woman or girl who had attempted suicide.

A doctor who wanted to remain anonymous (fearing punishment by the Taliban) told CNN in July 2024 about the rise in patients he has seen at his mental health clinic in Afghanistan's western Herat province. He said that he has seen a 40% to 50% rise in patients, especially women, since the Taliban’s takeover two years ago. Around 10% of those patients kill themselves, he said.

He added that since the education ban, the mental health of women and girls has severely deteriorated. He said he tries to comfort that saying that the ban will be lifted and until then they can work from home pursuing hobbies that help them find purpose. But he himself has lost hope, he said. 

"Last year, everyone had a hope that next year the schools will be open. The government promised that they would open the schools... But since this year the schools are not open, people lost their hopes. I feel like the number of suicides will increase," he told CNN, adding, "I don’t see any good future for anyone in this country."

The Taliban denied any claims of rising suicides despite reports from the UN. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote in a statement to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in January, "In the last 20 years, there were many cases of women committing suicide, but by the grace of Allah, we do not have such cases now."

Shortage Of Female Healthcare Staff

The Taliban have restricted women from pursuing secondary and higher education, including medical studies, which has exposed the gender-targetted retrograde control over the country's people. The UNICEF's spokesperson Kate Pond told VOA that there is a shortage of qualified health workers in Afghanistan in general, and women especially, which is resulting in people travelling long distances for health care services.

“As a result, more than one-third of the population lack access to health facilities,” she said. "If the ban on women’s education and work is not lifted, there will be no female doctor left in Afghanistan in the near future." Even before the Taliban came back to power, the nation grappled with a shortage of female medical staff, with some districts having no women workers at all.

Afghanistan has not seen a rise in female health staff for decades, reflecting some of the worst women’s health indicators in the world, which has now been exacerbated by the bans on women's education and employment. “Afghanistan has not produced a single female doctor for more than a year, and this is the worst thing that could happen to our health sector,” said a Kabul Medical University lecturer to Voice Of America (VOA). 

Before the Taliban came back to power in 2021, Afghanistan had made some progress in reducing the mortality rate-- from 1,600 per 10,000 live births in 2002 to 620 in 2020. However, the nation's new directives are reversing the progress, especially making it worse for women. UN's Alison Davidian stated, "Our analysis shows that by 2026, the impact of leaving 1.1 million girls out of school and 100,000 women out of university correlates to an increase in early childbearing by 45% and an increase in maternal mortality by up to 50%"

Healthcare Has Turned Donor-Dependent

Afghanistan's healthcare system is in a fragile state since the Taliban seized all power in 2021. The country is fully dependent on foreign aid and donations to sustain the salary of staff and run healthcare centres and hospitals. However, this is now in an uncertain situation as foreign donors are imposing sanctions on the Taliban governance.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) paid supplemental salaries for more than 10,000 doctors, nurses and staff at 33 hospitals serving 26 million people across Afghanistan, according to a VOA report. The organisation also paid for the drugs and other medical supplies, as well as running costs of the hospitals, like electricity, ambulance services, lab tests and food for patients until the program ended in August.

Now, UNICEF has taken over the ICRC's undertaking, paying the salaries of more than 27,000 Afghan health workers, including 10,000 women. The salary payment program serves as a “lifeline in retaining the health workforce and preventing further brain drain” in Afghanistan, according to Kate Pond.

Despite funding from UNICEF and ICRC, Afghanistan's healthcare condition has revealed a pressing need for immediate donor assistance, as reported for at least 36 hospitals. The Taliban does not disclose the budget for healthcare and the allocation of funds within the healthcare sector. While donors have responded to the UN's calls for humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan, only 40% of the required $412 million for critical health services in 2023 has been committed.