"All men, all evil" - Martina Navratilova makes her feelings known on Taliban banning women from pursuing medical education in Afghanistan

Martina Navratilova voiced her outrage targeting the Taliban’s latest restriction barring Afghan women from pursuing medical education. Navratilova labeled the Taliban as "evil" in a scathing critique of their policies, which have systematically dismantled women’s rights since their return to power in Afghanistan in 2021.

The issue gained global attention when reports emerged on December 2, 2024, of a new directive from the Taliban’s supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada. This decree, communicated through Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health, prohibits medical schools from admitting female students.

The decision exacerbates an already dire situation for women in the country, where higher education for girls was banned in December 2022, and school attendance is restricted beyond the sixth grade. To further entrench their control, the Taliban prohibits women from working in most sectors, leaving healthcare and a handful of other fields as exceptions, albeit with stringent restrictions.

Navratilova’s frustration was palpable when she shared a video on X(formerly Twitter) on December 3, 2024, showing female students being turned away from their medical school by Taliban officials

"The Taliban are evil. All men. All Evil," she wrote.

Afghanistan’s maternal mortality rate---among the worst globally---serves as a grim backdrop to the Taliban’s regressive policies. According to the World Health Organization, 620 women die per 100,000 live births in Afghanistan.

Coupled with the Taliban’s ban on male doctors treating female patients without a male guardian present, the restriction on medical education for women signals a catastrophic decline in healthcare access for Afghan women.

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Martina Navratilova criticizes ICC for alleged discriminatory treatment of Afghan women cricketers

Martina Navratilova during the 2024 Laureus World Sports Awards press conference (Image source: Getty)

Martina Navratilova criticized the International Cricket Council (ICC) for its alleged unequal treatment of Afghanistan’s women’s cricket team, accusing the male-dominated leadership of prioritizing male athletes over female counterparts.

Afghanistan remains the only ICC full member without a women's cricket team, as the Taliban's rule has barred women from international cricket.

Women's cricket journalist Raf Nicholson recently condemned the ICC for failing to support Afghan women, noting that while the men’s team trains abroad, the women are denied opportunities to train or play.

"ICC: very happy for the Afghanistan men's team to do all their training in another country, but when the women's team ask to do the same BECAUSE THEY LITERALLY AREN'T ALLOWED TO TRAIN / PLAY / EXIST AT HOME, ICC reps won't even meet them to discuss it," she wrote.

The 18-time Grand Slam champion reshared Nicholson’s tweet, calling out the ICC’s male leadership for fostering inequality.

"Shame on all these men who keep giving male athletes every advantage possible denying same for women athletes," Martina Navratilova wrote.

Martina Navratilova previously criticized the organizers of the 2024 Paris Olympics for disqualifying Afghan breakdancer Manizha Talash, a member of the Olympic Refugee Team, for wearing a cape bearing the slogan "Free Afghan Women."