On Sunday, August 31, a 6.0 magnitude earthquake hit towns near the Pakistan border of Afghanistan, just 16.77 miles north-east of the city of Jalalabad. It was the third major earthquake to hit Afghanistan since 2021, killing at least 2,205 people, injuring 3,640, and destroying more than 5,400 homes. Earlier this year, the United States halted aid contracts worth $1.7 billion, and European countries followed by halting their contracts as well. The halts are primarily due to concerns about the corrupt and repressive government in Afghanistan since the Taliban took over. Afghanistan is left with only $767 million worth of humanitarian aid, which have significantly lowered the number of reinforcements available.
Afghanistan had already been in warfare that lasted a long twenty years and is currently experiencing major humanitarian crises. Currently, the country is dealing with its economic stock decreasing and increasing natural disasters due to climate change. This puts the war-ravaged country into poverty and food insecurity.
The earthquake has shown the harsh reality of women’s healthcare in Afghanistan. Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021, women and girls have been hit with harsh rules and restrictions that have deeply restricted their autonomy. The Taliban had implemented mobility bans on women, preventing them from traveling alone and limiting their movements. They were instead required to be escorted by a male relative or mahram. During the earthquake, it meant that women had to be escorted to clinics or healthcare areas, delaying much needed urgent care and treatment.
Meanwhile, there were very few women healthcare workers available to help women and girls injured in the disaster. This is due to the Taliban’s ban on women enrollment in medical and higher education. The ban has left Afghanistan with fewer new women healthcare and medical workers. According to the United States Department of State’s 2024 Afghanistan human rights report, many of those who had the qualifications and were permitted to work often did not due to the fear of the Taliban restrictions on women in the workplace. These restrictions don’t just prevent new workers but also previous workers from doing their job, taking away much needed help during the earthquake. The report also states the restrictions and rules preventing men from treating women. Due to this ban, all-men rescue teams could not help women survivors who had been injured or trapped. According to the New York Times, Bibi Aysha, who experienced the issue firsthand stated that workers did not offer women assistance, asked about their needs or tried to approach them. Instead, many were ignored and were left to wait hours until women rescuers came to provide help, increasing the chances of life-threatening injuries or death. As male volunteer Tahzeebullah Mahazeb commented, he felt that women were invisible: while other children and men were getting help, women were kept waiting for care.
The Taliban has banned Afghanistan women staff members working for the United Nations from entering UN compounds in Kabul, preventing female staff from being able to work and help other women during the devastating aftermath of the earthquake. According to the United Nations, women and girls were reported to take up more than half of those injured and killed in the earthquake, with them also making up 60 percent of those still missing. Furthermore, Mahazeb also stated that if a male relative was not present, male rescuer workers would remove women who died in the earthquake by their clothing, so they wouldn’t make skin to skin contact.
Afghanistan already had ongoing issues regarding the persecution of women and girls, but the way women were treated during the aftermath of the earthquake emphasizes just how severe the women’s healthcare crisis actually is. Women were left in conditions where their safety and well-being were pushed aside. The earthquake brought light to the silent suffering of millions of women in Afghanistan.
