AFGHANISTAN-UNREST-HEALTH-MENTAL

In this photograph taken on April 27, 2017, a mentally ill Afghan patient lies in a chained as an Afghan custodian covers him with a blanket at the Mia Ali Baba holy shrine in the village of Samar Khel on the outskirts of Jalalabad. The Mia Ali Baba shrine is thought to cure addicts and the mentally ill 'Inmates' who spend 40 days chained up and confined to a small 'cell'. They are allowed only water, bread and black pepper to eat. Patients are only allowed to bathe their faces, hands and feet, cannot change their clothes or use soap or shampoo, Their hair and nails must be left uncut. With fourteen small windowless rooms, The shrine, located about 30 kilometres east of Jalalabad, has been in existence for more than 300 years, treating the mentally ill as well as people possessed by djinns, or spirits. Desperate Afghan families from across the country, who are unable to afford health care bring their family members to the shrine, because they believe the treatment will be effective, or because they have no alternative. The shrine was founded by Mia Sayed Ali Shah, known as Mia Ali Baba, who was born in 1625. He is venerated as a holy man, and the treatment he prescribed has been handed down from generation to generation. It follows the Chishti school of Sufism, the mystical strand within Islam. The shrine is still run by about 70 family members, who care for patients in shifts. It also attracts daily visitors who come for help with personal problems and illnesses. / AFP PHOTO / NOORULLAH SHIRZADA (Photo credit should read NOORULLAH SHIRZADA/AFP via Getty Images)