Afghan Women Medical Students Face Uncertain Future as Pakistan Orders Deportation

The latest Pakistani order to expel Afghan medical and dental students threatens the prospects of dozens of young Afghan women. Human Rights Watch notes that the Taliban’s ban on women’s university education in Afghanistan leaves these students with no alternative but to stay in Pakistan to finish their degrees.

King Edward Medical University in Lahore instructed twenty Afghan students – including four women – to complete exit formalities within a single day. The university also stopped new admissions of Afghan nationals across the country’s medical schools.

HRW points out that Pakistan is a party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which obliges the state to provide equal educational opportunities regardless of nationality. Forcing Afghan women back to a country where they cannot study breaches that covenant and the broader principle of non‑refoulement.

The organization urges the Pakistani government to rescind the expulsion order, restore enrolments, and grant the affected students legal residency until they graduate.