Farkhondeh is the clinician in charge of the Sehat-e Tefl Wa Madar (Mothers and Babies Health) Clinic in Herat, Afghanistan, and has been working with MSI for two years.

In Afghanistan, women are only able to access healthcare from female providers, reducing accessibility and awareness. Farkhondeh is therefore passionate about reaching as many women as possible, and explained that women’s lack of choice surrounding their reproductive health is the largest challenge she faces as a provider:

“The biggest challenge in this area comes when women cannot make independent decisions about their pregnancy in our society. In my opinion, this has been the biggest challenge we face so far.”  

Despite this, Farkhondeh praised the work MSI has done in bringing care to their communities and broadening societal awareness of sexual and reproductive healthcare:

“I think what MSI Afghanistan is doing is crucial. MSI Afghanistan is the only healthcare organisation [in the country] where the sexual and reproductive healthcare services are offered by women for women. This fortunately makes it a very secure environment for women to visit us, talk about their problems and receive support. The security, confidentiality and the support women find in visiting our clinic means women visit time and again.” 

“Recently, more and more people pay attention to sexual health in our society. Women now pay more attention to this issue.” 

Farkhondeh shared an inspiring story from one of her clients, who flourished when given the ability to choose her own healthcare:

“I remember I had just started my job with MSI, and a woman visited our clinic. It was her mother-in-law who was making decisions for her. When she came here, she was suffering from serious malnutrition and her three children also were malnourished. The woman was very young, almost around 20 years old but it seemed like she had already passed 40. In discussion with her, she received an IUD. Now she visits us regularly to get checked and follow up with her family planning, and she’s happy. We have admitted her children in our nutritional programme and fortunately now they are in a normal condition. This has affected her whole life and helped her be in a better financial situation.” 

Finally, she told us why working for MSI is incredibly important to her and why she is proud of her accomplishments:

“From an early age, I liked to be someone who can help others. As MSI is working for women and with children, it gives me great satisfaction that a woman goes out with a smile on her face, healthier and feeling secure enough to talk about her pains and concerns. This is what I am proud of, and this is why I am proud of being a member of MSI family.”