<P> Female health professionals were exempted from the employment ban, yet they operated in much - reduced circumstances . The ordeal of physically getting to work due to the segregated bus system and widespread harassment meant some women left their jobs by choice . Of those who remained, many lived in fear of the regime and chose to reside at the hospital during the working week to minimise exposure to Taliban forces . These women were vital to ensuring the continuance of gynaecological, ante - natal and midwifery services, be it on a much compromised level . Under the Rabbani regime, there had been around 200 female staff working in Kabul's Mullalai Hospital, yet barely 50 remained under the Taliban . NGOs operating in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban in 2001 found the shortage of female health professionals to be a significant obstacle to their work . </P> <P> The other exception to the employment ban allowed a reduced number of humanitarian workers to remain in service . The Taliban segregation codes meant women were invaluable for gaining access to vulnerable women or conducting outreach research . This exception was not sanctioned by the entire Taliban movement, so instances of female participation, or lack thereof, varied with each circumstance . The city of Herat was particularly affected by Taliban adjustments to the treatment of women, as it had been one of the more cosmopolitan and outward - looking areas of Afghanistan prior to 1995 . Women had previously been allowed to work in a limited range of jobs, but this was stopped by Taliban authorities . The new governor of Herat, Mullah Razzaq, issued orders for women to be forbidden to pass his office for fear of their distracting nature . </P> <P> The Taliban claimed to recognize their Islamic duty to offer education to both boys and girls, yet a decree was passed that banned girls above the age of 8 from receiving education . Maulvi Kalamadin insisted it was only a temporary suspension and that females would return to school and work once facilities and street security were adapted to prevent cross-gender contact . The Taliban wished to have total control of Afghanistan before calling upon an Ulema body to determine the content of a new curriculum to replace the Islamic yet unacceptable Mujahadin version . </P> <P> The female employment ban was felt greatly in the education system . Within Kabul alone, the ruling affected 106,256 girls, 148,223 male students, and 8,000 female university undergraduates . 7,793 female teachers were dismissed, a move that crippled the provision of education and caused 63 schools to close due to a sudden lack of educators . Some women ran clandestine schools within their homes for local children, or for other women under the guise of sewing classes, such as the Golden Needle Sewing School . The learners, parents and educators were aware of the consequences should the Taliban discover their activities, but for those who felt trapped under the strict Taliban rule, such actions allowed them a sense of self - determination and hope . </P>

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