Afghan women train as midwives for remote villages - in pictures

To mark International Women's Day, we take a closer look at a group of pioneering Afghan women

Since taking over in 2021, Taliban authorities have barred women from universities and most charity jobs. All photos: Reuters

The Taliban has made exemptions in the healthcare sector

Young women are training as a midwives, an initiative spearheaded by the UNHCR and a local NGO

Forty young trainees in the province of Bamiyan are learning midwifery skills to help women in remote parts of the country where medical help is scarce

These women are learning basic but crucial skills that could save lives

'Our society is facing many problems in terms of healthcare and even with the new generation of technology we are still witnessing mothers and children dying,' a trainee says

Each month, around 24,000 Afghan women give birth in remote rural areas without access to healthcare, according to UN figures

The UN estimates an Afghan woman dies every two hours during pregnancy and childbirth

Doctors and aid workers say isolation can become a death sentence in remote villages

The logistical challenges can be enormous, says Mohammad Ashraf Niazi, head of the UNHCR’s Bamiyan office

Mr Niazi says when the roads are blocked people even use donkeys to reach clinics

Aziza Rahimi, 35, lost her son at birth after her husband was unable to find a car or an ambulance to transport her to hospital

Trainee midwives are learning how to assess and guide pregnant women, deliver babies and provide post-partum care

The UNHCR says local health authorities are supportive of the project

The UNHCR is hoping to expand the project to a neighbouring province in the future

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