UN Expert Warns of Severe Shortage of Female Doctors in Afghanistan
New Age Islam News Bureau
26 February 2026
· UN Expert Warns of Severe Shortage of Female Doctors in Afghanistan
· Saudi Arabia Leads Region in Women’s Empowerment, Records Strongest Global Progress
· Trump demands deportation of 2 female Muslim members of Congress
· Ehsan Centre holds Ramadan Ghabga for elderly women
· Journalist Elaheh Mohammadi Released After Hours at Prosecutor’s Office
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
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UN Expert Warns of Severe Shortage of Female Doctors in Afghanistan
By Fidel Rahmati
February 26, 2026
UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett says Afghanistan’s health sector faces critical shortages of female doctors due to sweeping restrictions on women.
Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, says the country’s health system is facing an acute shortage of female medical professionals.
In his latest report on Wednesday, Febraury 25, Bennett noted that women make up just 27 percent of general physicians, 18 percent of specialist doctors and 29 percent of nurses nationwide. The figures highlight widening gender gaps in the healthcare workforce.
The report stresses that policies imposed by the Taliban restricting women’s education, employment, mobility and public participation are inflicting deep and lasting damage on the health sector.
It warns that the 2024 ban on women’s medical education has not only disrupted current service delivery but also undermined the long-term sustainability of Afghanistan’s healthcare system.
Medical institutes that were previously open to women were closed by order of the current authorities, cutting off access to training in medicine, nursing, midwifery and other health-related fields.
The report adds that many female health workers are retiring, emigrating or being forced out of their jobs, leaving rural and underserved communities without trained staff capable of providing safe and culturally acceptable care.
Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have barred girls from secondary and higher education, leaving millions out of school. Women have also been restricted from working in NGOs, UN offices and many public spaces.
Afghanistan is already facing a severe humanitarian crisis, with collapsing public services and strained healthcare facilities. International agencies warn that continued restrictions on women risk further weakening an already fragile system.
Bennett called for urgent international engagement, warning that without immediate corrective action, Afghanistan’s healthcare infrastructure could face irreversible decline.
Source: khaama.com
https://www.khaama.com/un-expert-warns-of-severe-shortage-of-female-doctors-in-afghanistan/
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Saudi Arabia Leads Region in Women’s Empowerment, Records Strongest Global Progress
25 February 2026
Saudi women working at the Ministry of Interior. (Ministry of Interior)
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Saudi Arabia has ranked first in the Middle East for women’s empowerment and recorded the highest global improvement in supportive frameworks, according to the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law 2026 report.
The Kingdom posted the largest increase in points worldwide in the “supportive frameworks” pillar and also advanced in the legal frameworks category. The supportive frameworks indicator evaluates national policies, action plans and initiatives designed to ensure effective implementation of legislation related to women.
Women’s empowerment has been a central priority for the Saudi government, particularly the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, under Vision 2030. Expanding women’s participation in the labor market is one of the Vision’s core objectives.
A series of legislative reforms and regulatory changes in recent years has strengthened women’s position in Saudi society, enabling them to play a greater role in economic, social, scientific and cultural fields.
According to the World Bank report, Saudi Arabia achieved the highest score in the supportive frameworks pillar among Middle East countries and ranked first among Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states in overall performance across all indicators.
The Kingdom also outperformed several Group of Twenty (G20) economies, including the United States, China and Türkiye, in the same category, underscoring the scale of its recent reforms.
In 2023, Saudi Arabia raised its target for women’s labor force participation to 40 percent by 2030, after already surpassing its initial Vision 2030 goal of 30 percent. Female participation rose from 17 percent to 35.3 percent, exceeding expectations well ahead of schedule.
Momentum continued in 2025, with women’s labor force participation surpassing 36 percent. Female unemployment fell to its lowest levels on record, reaching 10.5 percent overall and 12.1 percent during the first half of the year.
These gains were driven by legislative reforms and targeted initiatives such as “Wusool,” which supports transportation for working women, and “Qurrah,” which provides childcare assistance.
Women’s representation in leadership and technology roles has also increased significantly, reinforcing their role as key contributors to Vision 2030.
More than 122,000 female job seekers have benefited from the Parallel Training Initiative, which offers specialized programs designed to boost sustainability in private-sector employment.
The initiative boasts more than 800 training modules covering both soft and technical skills, delivered through partnerships with over 70 training providers. To date, more than 280,000 certificates have been issued to participants, strengthening their qualifications and long-term career prospects.
Source: aawsat.com
https://english.aawsat.com/business/5244605-saudi-arabia-leads-region-women%E2%80%99s-empowerment-records-strongest-global-progress
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Trump demands deportation of 2 female Muslim members of Congress
25.02.2026
US President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the chambers of the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, DC, United States, on February 24, 2026.
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US President Donald Trump demanded the rapid deportation of two female Muslim members of Congress on Wednesday after Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar tried to shout him down during his State of the Union address.
"When people can behave like that, and knowing that they are Crooked and Corrupt Politicians, so bad for our Country, we should send them back from where they came — as fast as possible," Trump wrote in a lengthy social media screed on his Truth Social platform.
While Omar was born in Somalia, she has been a US citizen for nearly three decades. Tlaib, meanwhile, is a Palestinian American native of Detroit, Michigan, meaning she has been a citizen her entire life. Neither would be eligible to be sent to their ancestral countries.
Both women repeatedly shouted at Trump on Tuesday evening as he addressed a joint session of Congress, rebuking him for the deaths of Americans at the hands of his immigration officers.
"You have killed Americans!" the lawmakers yelled shortly before they exited the House chamber.
“Can't take two Muslimas talking back and correcting him so now he is crashing out. #PresidentMajnoon,” Tlaib wrote in response on US social media company X. Her hashtag used an Arabic word meaning “mad” king.
Trump further roped in two-time Academy Award winner Robert de Niro, a vocal critic of the president in his social media attack, saying the actor is "another sick and demented person with, I believe, an extremely Low IQ, who has absolutely no idea what he is doing or saying."
"When I watched him break down in tears last night, much like a child would do, I realized that he may be even sicker than Crazy Rosie O’Donnell, who is right now in Ireland trying to figure out how to come back into our beautiful United States. The only difference between De Niro and Rosie is that she is probably somewhat smarter than him, which isn’t saying much," he wrote.
De Niro participated in a MS Now podcast published Monday in which he said the president "is the enemy of this country, let's not kid ourselves."
"He will never leave. We have to make him leave. You see, he jokes now about nationalizing the elections — he's not joking. We've seen enough already. And everybody's worried about it, but he means it," he said.
Source: aa.com.tr
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/trump-demands-deportation-of-2-female-muslim-members-of-congress/3840161
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Ehsan Centre holds Ramadan Ghabga for elderly women
25 February 2026
Minister of Social Development and Family H E Buthaina bint Ali Al Jabr Numaimi with officials and members of Ehsan during the event.
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Doha, Qatar: In the presence of Minister of Social Development and Family and Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Qatar Foundation for Social Work H E Buthaina bint Ali Al Jabr Al Nuaimi, the Centre for Empowerment and Care of the Elderly (Ehsan) organised its annual Ramadan Ghabga for the esteemed elderly women affiliated with the centre. The event was held in strategic partnership with Qatar National Bank (QNB) and attended by a number of Their Excellencies, officials, and invited guests. The event reflects Ehsan Centre’s commitment to strengthening social bonds and reinforcing values of appreciation and loyalty towards elderly women. The Ghabga provided a warm gathering space that brought mothers together in an authentic Ramadan atmosphere, evoking the spirit of the holy month and its values of compassion, connection, and intergenerational solidarity. The programme included an accompanying exhibition showcasing works created by the elderly women members. Through their artistic and skill-based prod ctions, they highlighted their accumulated experience and renewed creativity, affirming that giving and innovation are not bound by age but are a continuation of a life rich in achievement. The event also featured a special Sadu weaving workshop, in which the Minister joined the elderly mothers in experiencing the weaving of traditional Sadu textiles. The scene reflected deep appreciation for authentic Qatari heritage and embodied the spirit of interaction and closeness between leadership and the community. It also reinforced the value of handicrafts as an integral part of national identity. In this context, Manal Ahmed Al Mannai, Executive Director of Ehsan expressed her sincere thanks and appreciation to the Minister for her presence and participation with the elderly women on this occasion. She emphasized that Her Excellency’s attendance and active engagement in the Ghabga activities had a profound impact on the elderly women and reflected genuine interest in supporting and empowering them. She added that the strategic partnership with Qatar National Bank represents a model of integration between the social and financial sectors in supporting meaningful community initiatives, praising the bank’s role in promoting the concept of corporate social responsibility and enhancing social sustainability. For her part, Heba Al Tamimi, Senior Executive Vice President – Group Communications at QNB, stated that the bank is proud of its longstanding partnership with Ehsan Centre, which reflects its ongoing commitment to supporting valued segments of society.
Source: thepeninsulaqatar.com
https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/26/02/2026/ehsan-centre-holds-ramadan-ghabga-for-elderly-women
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Journalist Elaheh Mohammadi Released After Hours at Prosecutor’s Office
FEBRUARY 25, 2026
According to additional information obtained by IranWire, social affairs journalist Elaheh Mohammadi was summoned to the prosecutor’s office on Wednesday, February 25. After several hours of questioning and providing explanations, she was allowed to return home.
Earlier, informed sources had told IranWire that Elaheh Mohammadi had been arrested.
Elaheh Mohammadi was among the journalists detained in 2022 while reporting on the state killing of Jina Mahsa Amini. She was arrested on September 29, 2022, after covering Amini’s funeral - the young woman who died in the custody of the so-called “Morality Police” - and went on to spend 17 months in prison.
In the same case, Shahab Mirlohi, Mohammadi’s lawyer, had previously announced that his client had been granted amnesty and that her judicial case had been closed.
Elaheh Mohammadi is a prominent Iranian journalist who works for the newspaper Ham-Mihan. She drew international attention for her reporting on the death of Mahsa (Jina) Amini, particularly after traveling to Amini’s hometown of Saqqez to cover her funeral.
Source: iranwire.com
https://iranwire.com/en/news/149517-journalist-elaheh-mohammadi-released-after-hours-at-prosecutors-office/
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