Pakistani female surgeons perform life-saving fistula surgeries in Kabul

ISLAMABAD: In a rare act of cross-border medical solidarity, five Pakistani female surgeons led by renowned gynaecologist Dr. Shershah Syed traveled to Kabul earlier this month to perform life-restoring surgeries on Afghan women suffering from obstetric fistula -- a devastating childbirth injury that continues to claim dignity and lives in silence across Afghanistan.

Fistula, a tear between the birth canal and the bladder or rectum, typically caused by prolonged, obstructed labour without timely medical intervention, leaves women “incontinent, socially ostracised, and often divorced or abandoned”.

It is a condition that epitomises neglect, poverty, and a failed maternal healthcare system. In Afghanistan, with its fragile health infrastructure and ongoing restrictions on women’s education and mobility, fistula has become an even more silent epidemic.

The recent surgical camp held at Kabul’s Cure Hospital was the outcome of a meeting last year in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where international and regional stakeholders, including representatives of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Fistula Foundation, and the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), came together to find practical ways to support Afghan women amidst an escalating healthcare crisis.

With most trained fistula surgeons having fled Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover, the camp was designed not only to treat existing patients but also to train new local female surgeons in the critical surgical techniques required for fistula repair.

Visa restrictions between Pakistan and Afghanistan made the mission particularly challenging. Afghan patients can no longer travel easily to Karachi’s Koohi Goth Hospital, a globally recognised centre for fistula care. Instead, the Pakistani team had to obtain special paper visas arranged with the help of Afghan educator and telemedicine pioneer Abdullah Butt. According to Dr. Shershah Syed, their entry into Kabul was unexpectedly warm: the visa officers and airport staff, representing a government often criticised for its treatment of women, expressed genuine gratitude to the visiting doctors. The mission suffered a blow just before departure when Dr. Ambreen, one of the leading Pakistani surgeons expected to join from New York, informed the team that she had been redirected by the UN to Palestine’s Gaza Strip. Tragically, a colleague of hers was later killed in an Israeli airstrike. “We all salute Ambreen for her courage and commitment,” said Dr. Syed, who accompanied the team and documented their journey.

They found Afghan midwives—locally called Qabla—highly competent but severely limited in opportunities due to the Taliban’s ban on female education and midwifery training. Young female doctors eagerly questioned the Pakistani team about training in Pakistan, particularly pursuing FCPS in obstetrics and gynaecology.

The Pakistani Consulate in Kabul hosted the team for a dinner amid tight security, where Consul General Obaid Nizamani assured the doctors he would personally facilitate easier visa access for Afghan patients and medical staff at Cure Hospital in future.