(Anadolu)
KARACHI, Pakistan – The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on Thursday welcomed the Afghan interim government's decision to allow female high school graduates to be admitted to state-run medical colleges beginning this academic year.
“UNAMA welcomes the decision by Afghanistan’s de facto authorities to enable female grade 12 graduate(s) enrollment in medical institutions in 11 provinces,” the UN mission said in a post on X.
They called the move “a step in addressing worrying healthcare gaps,” in the war-torn country.
“Women and girls require full secondary/university education access," it added.
The enrollment process has already begun in 11 Afghan provinces, following a directive from the Ministry of Public Health, a spokesman for the Information Ministry said.
Following the decision, he added, girl students who have completed grade 12 can apply for admission to medical colleges in Kapisa, Paktia, Parwan, Panjshir, Paktika, Bamyan, Badakhshan, Ghazni, Maidan Wardak, Khost, and Logar provinces.
The academic year will begin next month.
The interim Taliban government has faced criticism for prohibiting girls from acquiring their education beyond the sixth grade and for prohibiting women from working in both the public and private sectors since regaining power in Afghanistan in August 2021. (Anadolu)
