Health and human rights of adolescent girls in Afghanistan.

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) conducted a study in early 1998 to assess the health and human rights conditions of Afghan women and girls living under the Taliban regime in Kabul. This paper highlights the concerns and experiences of adolescent girls in Kabul, includes a brief overview of the political situation in Afghanistan and Taliban policies toward women and girls, and presents findings from interviews with adolescent girls and women with adolescent daughters. It concludes with a discussion of current international standards for the protection of women's and girls' rights and the crucial role of health professionals in helping defend these rights.

Education, a Health Imperative: The Case of Afghanistan.

Education is not only a right, but an essential condition for the health and well-being of individuals and the communities in which they live. Despite strong authority within Islamic law and traditions affirmatively promoting the education of both girls and boys, the Taliban regime has denied women this right in the name of religion and culture. Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) recently surveyed the health and human rights concerns of Afghan women. The case of Afghanistan dramatically illustrates that education is a health imperative. Taliban policies of systematic discrimination against women, including restrictions on education, undermine the physical, psychological and social well-being of Afghan women. Such discrimination and the suffering it causes constitute an affront to the dignity and worth of Afghan women, and humanity as a whole.

Women's health and human rights in Afghanistan.

CONTEXT: During the past 20 years, social and political upheavals have disrupted the way of life in Afghanistan. The Taliban regime, a radical Islamic movement that took control of Kabul in September 1996, has had extraordinary health consequences for Afghan women. OBJECTIVE: To assess the health and human rights concerns and conditions of women living in Kabul under the Taliban regime. SETTING: Residences in Kabul; refugee camps and residences in Pakistan. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey of women who lived in Kabul, prior to September 1996, when the Taliban took control. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 160 women participated, including 80 women currently living in Kabul and 80 Afghan women who had recently migrated to Pakistan. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-reported changes in physical and mental health, access to health care, war-related trauma, human rights abuses, and attitudes toward women's human rights. RESULTS: The median age of respondents was 32 years (range, 17-70 years); median formal education was 12 years, and 136 (85%) of respondents had lived in Kabul for at least 19 years. Sixty-two percent (99/180) reported that they were employed before the Taliban takeover; only 32 (20%) were employed during their last year in Kabul. The majority of all women reported a decline in physical and mental health status (71% [113/160] and 81% [129/160], respectively) and reported a decline in access to health care (62% [99/160]) during the last 2 years living in Kabul. Many of the women reported symptoms that met diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (42% [67/160]), demonstrated evidence of major depression (97% [155/160]), and had significant anxiety symptoms (86% [137/160]). Eighty-four percent (134/160) of women reported 1 family member or more killed in war. Sixty-nine percent (111/160) reported that they or a family member had been detained and abused by Taliban militia, and 68% (108/160) reported extremely restricted social activities. Almost all (96%) expressed support for women's human rights. CONCLUSIONS: The current health and human rights status of women described in this report suggests that the combined effects of war-related trauma and human rights abuses by Taliban officials have had a profound effect on Afghan women's health. Moreover, support for women's human rights by Afghan women suggests that Taliban policies regarding women are incommensurate with the interests, needs, and health of Afghan women.