Afghan Women Train to Save Lives

Afghan women train as midwives at a clinic in order to help save lives in their villages.

                                                     

is a photographer and teacher. Since 1982, she has documented social issues, focusing in particular on the lives of women. She is currently working on a project titled “Women and War.”

In Taloqan, in the north of Afghanistan, a class of 20 young village women are being trained to be midwives at the Afghan Turk clinic. They spend 18 months studying and practicing in the town’s local clinics. After qualifying, they return to their remote villages, where they are often the only health worker for miles. In a country whose child mortality rates are the highest in the world and where many women die in pregnancy, their skills will save lives and enable women to deliver babies safely.