Afghan women told to ‘go home’ after de facto ban on male doctors treating them

The unofficial Taliban restriction has forced women into desperate and absurd situations as they seek medical help, according to interviews given to the Guardian and Zan Times Farida*, 37, woke up in excruciating pain one night with a toothache.

Over the next few days, the pain intensified. “My teeth had been ruined for years. My molars on both sides of my mouth were severely damaged. I couldn’t sleep at night and could barely eat. ” Farida and her family had returned from Iran earlier this year to live in Herat, a city in western Afghanistan. Like many migrants…