Please read the statement from one of our team’s doctors - she was taken by the Taliban and held for several days.
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Name: withheld
Date of birth: withheld
Place of birth: Parwan Province
Job: Dr, Midwifery
Ethnicity: Tajik
During the republican government, I worked in one of the hospitals in Kabul Province. I was a member of the Afghan Midwives Association and sometimes we traveled to different provinces to monitor the situation of women.
When the Taliban took over the government, I continued my activities in the field of health programs (Women’s Doctor).
Unfortunately, day by day, the Taliban created a lot of pressures, obstacles, and restrictions in many provinces of Afghanistan, especially in the Tajik-populated areas.
The availability of health services in Tajik districts was in horrible situation, especially in the areas where Taliban attacks were going on (Panjshir, Kapisa, Baghlan, Andrabha, Parwan, Takhar and Badakhshan).
Due to the high numbers of deaths of mothers and babies in birth when the Taliban took over and stopped letting doctors work, I could see that women’s healthcare was ruined. In my career, I also always tried to take care of women and girls who were victims of rape.
In September 2023, I was notified of a rape victim in Baghlan province who was in a bad condition and in critical need of help, and we went to help her with a medical team.
We did some preliminary baseline tests to assess how bad her condition was and if we could get her to Kabul province for more intensive care.
When I was there to check on her, I went to some other villages to assess women's health in their communities.
I then planned to make my way back to Kabul and along the way, we encountered a Taliban check point in Bagram district of Parwan province.
The armed Taliban told me that I should go to the Department of Public Health in Parwan province.
He said he will take me. I didn’t have a choice in this. He started to take me with him to the Public Health Department of Parwan, but along the way, he turned off the main road to a side street and I shouted to him, "Where are you going?"
Another Taliban was sitting in the back seat of the car (Ranger) with me, he closed my mouth tightly with his handkerchief and covered my head with a black sack.
Eventually they took me out of the car. I saw a big house with three floors.
Inside, there were a several women in that house and I could see it was clear they were raped. All those women and girls look at me with innocent and sad faces and eyes full of tears.
One of the Taliban said to the other women, don't worry, we have brought a doctor for you to be treated. I spent one week treating these women. I treated 20 victims that week, their ages ranged from 14 to approx 30 years old. They were from different provinces of Afghanistan.
11 of them were Tajik, 4 Uzbek, 5 Turkmen.
I didn't have my phones with me during this time so I was not able to contact my family members or colleagues.
When the treatment of these women was complete as best as I could, I told one of the Taliban members who was in charge of this house that my work is done and I want to go home.
He told me that we still have work to do. After the seventh day, one of the senior Taliban men came and said marry me.
I said please let me go.
He told me that if I get married to him, he will give me good a good life, a home, money, a car and I can go to Dubai, Arab Emirates, Pakistan and Iran for fun. I told him to please leave me alone. On the eighth day, he raped me and he told his men to rape me in turn.
I was in that house with these women and girls - we were held in one room - and the Taliban came every day and took women and girls from the room.
Finally, on October 15, 2023, the Taliban brought a male doctor since many of us were sick from infections, blood loss, and pain. That male doctor knew me and when he saw me, he was shocked and upset.
He said that the Taliban brought him to the house to give medicine to sick girls and women that they - the taliban said they found and were caring for. And once we weren’t sick, the Taliban told him they would find our homes.
I told him that it is a lie, these are girls from all over Afghanistan who were raped by this group of savages, and they also raped me too.
I was able to escape with the help of this doctor. He was able to sneak me out and I was hiding while the other Taliban men were busy.
I then stayed in hiding for a while in the house of one of this doctor's relatives in Kapisa province. unfortunately the doctor who helped me was arrested - for helping me escape - and I was brought to Kabul by this doctor's relatives.
I arrived in Kabul province on November 4, 2023.
I contacted our team and went to a safe house and informed my father that I am in a safe place. Later this day, my father came to see me and learned about my condition.
I could not go to the hospital and was scared to get medical care from anyone.
We started my medical examinations on December 1, 2023, and now my treatment is going on.
Unfortunately, the Taliban have found our house in Kabul and captured my brother to find me.
And I am in a safe place with your team, and I am very grateful for your service.
Unfortunately, Hepatitis B was reported in my initial examinations, and I am waiting for more lab testing results to come back.
I am in a bad mental state. It is hard to sleep, I feel like they will find me a kill me and have constant nightmares.