The de facto Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Kandahar province has issued a series of restrictive directives to healthcare workers, ordering strict compliance with mandated dress codes during surgical procedures and placing severe limitations on medical care for female patients.
The new mandates were communicated during a formal meeting between local morality enforcement officials and representatives of the Kandahar Doctors’ Union, with instructions subsequently distributed across all public and private medical facilities in the province.
Operating Room Mandates and Gender Segregation
According to medical sources and local reports, the enforcement directive establishes rigid behavioral and administrative guidelines across clinical settings:
- Surgical Attire Restrictions: Medical personnel have been instructed to ensure patients do not wear tight-fitting garments during surgical procedures and to strictly align their own appearance and professional conduct with prescribed moral codes.
- Mahram Enforcement for Female Patients: Directives mandate that female patients cannot undergo medical treatment without the physical presence of an approved male guardian (mahram).
- Restrictions on Male Medical Staff: Facilities have been ordered to minimize or eliminate the presence of male doctors and male healthcare personnel inside operating rooms during surgical operations on female patients.
- Judicial Threats for Non-Compliance: Enforcement officials explicitly warned healthcare administrators that medical staff committing repeat infractions will be formally referred to judicial courts for prosecution.
Degradation of Healthcare Access for Women
The implementation of these directives severely threatens healthcare delivery in Kandahar, where medical facilities already suffer from acute shortages of qualified female surgeons, specialists, and clinical staff.
Public health experts and international observers warn that requiring a male guardian for emergency care and barring male medical personnel from assisting in critical female surgeries will lead to fatal delays in emergency maternal and surgical care, further worsening Afghanistan’s severe healthcare crisis.