Taliban urges female workers in the Public Health Department to return to work in Afghanistan

Amid worsening health crisis in war-torn Afghanistan, the Taliban on Friday urged female employees of the nation's Public Health Department to come back to their duties. The statement comes amid reports of women in the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan are being denied work.  

Dr Naeem, who says is the spokesperson of the Political Office of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, on Twitter, said, “All female employees of the Ministry of Public Health of the Islamic Emirate are informed to attend their duties regularly in the capital and provinces. There is no problem or obstacle for their arrival by the Islamic Emirate." 

The statement comes after the rapid takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban as US troops are set to leave the nation on August 31. The Taliban's takeover has come with the fear of suppression of women's and minorities rights. The Taliban, which is known to be harsh in their treatment of women, has said that Afghan females would be given rights as per Islamic law. 

Even after the Taliban's statement to providing rights to women, groups are concerned that they will be banned from education, employment as Afghanistan will return to the situation during the group's rule from 1996-2001, where females could only leave the house with a male chaperone. 

The new statement by the Taliban, appealing to women health workers to come back to work has to do more, according to ground reports, with the humanitarian and health crisis in the war-torn nation, rather than women's freedom.