Alarming Rise in Mental Health Patients in Nimruz; Women and Girls Bear the Brunt

According to the 8am daily newspaper, between 90 to 120 mental health patients visit the Nimruz Provincial Hospital for treatment daily. Meanwhile, numerous private hospitals and clinics also confirm an increase in mental health patients, stating that dozens of people seek treatment at these facilities daily.

In this report, Dr. Ahmad Sadid (pseudonym), a specialist at the Nimruz Provincial Hospital, stated that the number of mental health patients has increased unprecedentedly in recent months. He added that most of the patients are young women and girls, and they attribute this increase to factors such as the closure of girls' schools and universities, the ban on women working, forced marriages, poverty, and unemployment.

The doctor explained, "Of the patients who come to us, 70% are women and girls, and the remaining 30% are young men. When I ask all these patients and get information, they either say it's because of school or they were married against their will or they were prevented from working, and when we ask the young men, they say it's unemployment. In short, these statistics show that our society is sick."

The report states that among the mental health patients, some girls have developed this illness due to the harsh living conditions under Taliban rule. Shima, a 17-year-old girl who has developed a mental illness due to the closure of schools, says, "Schools are closed, and I live in a corner of the house like a prisoner. A year has passed, we said maybe the school gates will open, but it didn't, and staying at home caused this problem and illness for me."

According to this report, Zainab, another girl from Nimruz, developed a mental illness after an unwanted marriage and is now undergoing treatment. Zainab's mother says, "My daughter was not sick. After she got married, she developed this illness. We have brought Zainab to the hospital twice this week. She has developed a kind of illness where she stands up and then falls down."

She adds, "When the Taliban came, one of the tribes proposed marriage, and her father, without Zainab's consent or desire, married her off, and this is the result of her marriage."

This report comes at a time when the Taliban have imposed severe restrictions on girls and women over the past three years, including banning them from attending schools and universities, participating in sports clubs, restaurants, public baths, and working in domestic and international non-governmental organizations, even the United Nations offices in Afghanistan. These Taliban actions have resulted in the deprivation of millions of female students from education and widespread restrictions on the social lives of Afghan women.