KABUL (SW) – Rural women in different provinces that Salam Watandar spoke with, complained about an absolute dearth of health, educational and recreational services in their surroundings.
While food, housing, medicine and education are basic human needs, a number of these women in the villages of Afghanistan have said they do not have access to these facilities at all or have limited access.
Out of 20 women in Faryab, Takhar, Kunduz, Jowzjan, Sar-e Pol, Bamyan, Nangarhar and Kapisa who were interviewed by Salam Watandar, some 15 of them said that they do not have access to health, educational, recreational and drinking water facilities in their place of residence and 5 others said they have limited access to these facilities.
Zohal, a resident of Ali Abad area, in Archi village of Kunduz, and Khadija, a resident of Nakerabad village in Sheberghan city, Jowzjan, both of whom are mothers of two children, said they have no access to health and educational facilities in their villages.
“We don’t have access to health and educational services. We don’t have much access to food and clothing needs either due to the change of the government. There is a shortage of doctors,” Zohal said.
Khadija, also lamented: “There are a lot of problems, our route is far away and our transportation costs is high, we can’t get access to everything. We don’t have a place to have recreation. In health sector, we have only one clinic, and it also also has problems. The economic problems are too much.”
Some of the women say that the lack of health clinics in their villages have poses threats to women’s health and they state that due to the lack of a medical centers in some districts, women lose their children during childbirth.
Basira from Chal district in Takhar, said: “Here is no clinic or hospital. We don’t have access to water. When the pregnant women or children get sick, we transfer them on donkey. On the way, we either lose the patient or the child.”
Palwasha from Taluqan city in the province, added: “When we have a patient, we have to transfer them to the center. Our patient dies. We are very upset and worried with these officials who do not pay any attention to us.”
In addition, some of the women interviewed in this report complained about the lack of water distribution networks in their places of residence.
Shaima, a residents of Takhar, said: “There is no clinic or tap water here, and there is a well that has dried up and is far from our house. They should build a clinic for us and provide us clean water.”
“There are no taps or water wells in our area, we bring water from far away, the road is far, we bring water from far away places,” said Zainab, another resident of the area.
However, there are women who are happy to live in villages and say that they have access to the basic facilities of life. Samira, a resident of Takhar, and Nafisa, a resident of Kapisa, are among such women satisfied with the work and life situation in their villages. “In the village where we live, there are schools, a health center,” said Samira.
Nafisa also stated: “Thank God, we have food, clothes and shelter. I have my husband. There is a clinic and when we get ill, we go there. The men of our house allow us and we go easily. Thank God, we have fields, I also work on the fields and the times pass.”
Women’s rights activists believe that women in Afghanistan are facing serious challenges and most of them do not have access to needed medical services.
Humaira Farhangyar, a women’s rights activist, says: “Unfortunately, the women of Afghanistan suffer from all the problems, and these problems are from the levels of the cities to the villages, these problems are increasing day by day. In general, in all regions of Afghanistan, this year, the lack of access of women to services is noticeable. Women’s access to health services is very low, and people do not have access to them,” she said.
However, the supervisors say that in the last three years, many medical facilities have been provided in Afghanistan, especially in the villages.
Sharafat Zaman, the head of the Ministry of Public Health, says that in the last three years, 350 treatment centers have been established across the country, as a result of which women’s death rate has decreased.
“Prior to the rule of the Islamic Emirate, 50% of Afghanistan’s areas were white, and the majority were areas where there was no health services, but there have been these services after the rule of the Islamic Emirate, which was attributed to the construction of 350 health centers that reduced the death rate, and we are working seriously on this issue.”
Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, says that there are more facilities in the villages and in more remote areas, female doctors are working. The de-facto government tries to provide more facilities for the women living in the villages in the future, according to him.
“The facilities in the villages have been funded to the extent possible and in most provinces there are clinics. After the arrival of the Islamic Emirate, the number of clinics has increased and there are some deprivation, and female doctors are also recruited although it is not enough; because the economy is weak and the government must have its own plans.”
Restrictions on access to health and educational services and lack of food security since late is one of the basic issues against the health and welfare of citizens, especially women, which has made rural women more vulnerable.
