Date: 14/08/1404
Taliban Restrictions: Cancer Patient Denied Entry to Hospital for Not Wearing a Burqa
8 Subh, Herat:
Local sources in Herat report that the Taliban refused to allow a 68‑year‑old woman with cancer to enter a hospital because she was not wearing a burqa.

Sources confirmed to 8 Subh on Wednesday, 14 Aqrab, that Taliban members at the regional hospital in Herat city instructed patients and their companions that they must wear a burqa before entering.

An eyewitness said:
“My mother has blood cancer, and we were forced to keep her waiting outside the hospital for two hours until we managed to borrow a burqa from our neighbours. Only then did they allow her to enter.”
This incident comes after a recent report by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), which stated that in the provinces of Kunar, Kandahar, and Khost, women without a male guardian have been denied access to medical services. The Taliban have also warned doctors not to treat female patients who are not wearing hijab.

This entry documents the denial of access to hospital care in Herat to a female patient not wearing a burqa, including a reported cancer patient. The enforcement of dress-based conditions for access to healthcare reflects the use of coercive restrictions on essential services, limiting timely medical treatment and reinforcing barriers to care for women within the health system.