Afghanistan: Giving birth under the Taliban (Commentary)
BBC News – September 19, 2021
Rabia is cradling her newborn baby, just days after giving birth at a small hospital in Nangarhar province in Afghanistan’s east. “This is my third child, but the experience was totally different. It was horrible,” she says. In a matter of weeks, the birthing unit Rabia delivered her baby in had been stripped down to its bare basics. She was given no pain relief, no medicine and no food. Surviving childbirth means Rabia is one of the lucky ones. Afghanistan has one of the worst maternal and infant mortality rates in the world, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), with 638 women dying per 100,000 live births. The UNFPA estimates that, without immediate support for women and girls, there could be 51,000 additional maternal deaths, 4.8 million unintended pregnancies, and twice as many people who won’t be able to access family planning clinics between now and 2025.
Also: Closed girls’ school violate fundamental right to education: https://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/271219858/closed-girls-school-violate-fundamental-right-to-education
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58585323