Taliban ban contraception in Afghanistan

Contraceptives were considered part of the “conspiracy of the West.” Every 14th Afghan woman dies due to pregnancy complications.

The sale of contraceptives was stopped in the Afghan capital Kabul and Mazar-i-Sharif (the fourth largest city). Local authorities bypass pharmacies and obstetricians with weapons and threaten to demand that contraceptives be withdrawn from sale. According to pharmacists, contraceptives were banned from stocking at the beginning of the month, authorities told sellers that “their use and family planning is a Western agenda” and “unnecessary work.”

Afghanistan is considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world for childbirth. One in 14 Afghan women die there from pregnancy-related causes. At the same time, the Ministry of Health did not comment on the new ban in any way, sellers learn about it from militants, buyers from sellers. After coming to power in the summer of 2021, the Taliban promised not to restrict women’s rights, but in the end they deprived them of access to higher education, forced them out of their jobs and partially forbade them to leave their homes.

*designated as a terrorist organization