KABUL , Afghanistan ( CNN ) -- The war in Afghanistan may no longer be forgotten but the true victims always are . Having been denied healthcare and education under the Taliban , Afghan women are now training as midwives . Women and children in the landlocked Asian country have continuously paid the ultimate price throughout the decades of conflict and war . It is their lives that are considered not precious enough to save . A woman here dies every 29 minutes due to childbirth complications , according to the United Nations Development Fund for Women ( UNIFEM ) -- one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world . One in four children die before they reach the age of five because of the lack of health care and medical facilities in their cities and villages . But ignorance is also deadly . Misguided cultural pride prevents men from allowing their women to see a doctor , merely because the doctor could be male . And in many cases , it 's not just women who die from childbirth-related issues . It is young girls forced into marriage before they even reach puberty . Their still-forming bodies can not handle the complications of childbirth . But there are women in Afghanistan stepping up within the crowds of the forgotten and pushing past the barriers . They are training as midwives across the country to help bring change and save lives . `` A woman can help a woman more , '' midwifery student Fariha Ibrahimi told CNN . `` We have to introduce them with what to do , what foods to eat , how to take care of themselves . `` [ We ] tell their husbands how to treat them . There are some husbands who beat their wives to the point where they can no longer even get pregnant . '' At the Ibni Sina Balkhi Midwifery Training Center in Kabul , dozens of future midwives study and practise in the hope of bringing a brighter future to their countrywomen . `` It 's very heartbreaking , '' Ibrahimi said of the situation women face . `` Afghanistan has gone through so much war and most girls were not allowed to get an education , so I want to study and bring forth something new . '' Sympathy for Afghan women is the strongest motivating force among students in this field : Many know personally what is like to live in a society where pregnant women are ignored and forgotten . `` We live in an area where we are far from any clinic or hospital and there are a lot of difficulties there for pregnant women , '' Nourzia , a student and mother , told CNN . `` It 's very difficult for them to reach a hospital . This is why I was so keen in learning this profession and helping these women ; so in the future they are in less danger . '' All the women here are training with the permission and support of their families . They are leading the way to a brighter tomorrow for Afghan women -- one that may one day catch up with the rest of the world . `` The world is moving forward and he did n't want me to sit around jobless , '' said future midwife , Maurina whose husband is supportive of her new career . `` He wanted me to push ahead in this field , especially a field in which our people need help in . '' There are still many obstacles left and these women are still in the minority . According to the World Health Organization there are only about 2,000 trained midwives servicing Afghanistan 's population of just under 33 million . But that is a giant leap from just eight years ago when most women were denied an education , medical care and the basic necessities of survival under the Taliban regime . It will take many years to change mindsets instilled by decades of brutality . But these women prove that maybe , just maybe , the next generation can fix the mistakes of the last .
Afghanistan has one of the highest rates of maternal and infant mortality in the world . A woman dies in childbirth every 29 minutes , one in four children die before age 5 . In addition , thousands of women are now training to become midwives to help save lives .