Did restrictions on women workers hamper Afghanistan’s earthquake response?

A devastating magnitude 6.0 earthquake successful eastbound Afghanistan connected August 31 killed much than 2,200 radical and injured immoderate 3,600, according to the Taliban authorities.

Nearly fractional a cardinal were affected by the earthquake successful the worst-hit Kunar and Nangarhar provinces, with alleviation and rescue efforts continuing adjacent aft 3 weeks of the tragedy.

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However, arsenic the section authorities and assistance agencies effort to supply enactment to victims successful a state mostly babelike connected planetary humanitarian support, women stay visibly absent from these efforts.

In 2022, the Taliban authorities banned women from moving successful NGOs operating successful the country. A twelvemonth later, it besides forbade Afghan women from moving with the United Nations and different planetary NGOs.

While respective NGOs were capable to negociate presumption allowing immoderate of their pistillate unit to proceed moving if accompanied by their “mahrams” (male guardians), determination are importantly less women moving arsenic assistance workers successful Afghanistan contiguous than was the lawsuit earlier the Taliban returned to power, observers say.

The Taliban ban, immoderate of them say, has made it harder for assistance agencies operating successful Afghanistan to scope women who request enactment during a disaster, similar the recent earthquake. According to the UN, much than fractional of those killed oregon injured successful the earthquake were women and girls.

Several women successful the earthquake-affected areas, however, said antheral rescue workers did assistance them, and the Taliban insists it is doing each it tin to guarantee that each victims person assistance — irrespective of their gender.

Women overlooked? Mixed stories

On September 7, the World Health Organization (WHO) urged the Taliban authorities to assistance their restrictions connected pistillate assistance workers successful Afghanistan successful the aftermath of the disaster.

“A precise large contented present is the expanding paucity of pistillate unit successful these places,” said Mukta Sharma, a typical of the WHO successful superior Kabul, astatine the time. She said astir 90 percent of the earthquake-affected region’s aesculapian unit were men, and the remaining 10 percent were women who chiefly worked arsenic midwives and nurses, and truthful were not trained to tackle terrible injuries.

A fewer pistillate unpaid healthcare workers, who were capable to scope the sites affected by the earthquake, corroborated the challenges faced successful rescuing women.

Fatema, a unpaid who shared lone her archetypal name, told Al Jazeera aft returning from Kunar connected Friday that the unwillingness of galore antheral volunteers to interaction women due to the fact that of Afghanistan’s strict societal codification meant that “many women inactive stay missing owed to the neglect”.

“Cultural restrictions tin marque it harder for women to entree enactment and services, arsenic we person seen with the Afghan women returnees from Iran and Pakistan,” Susan Ferguson, the UN Women’s peculiar typical successful Afghanistan, told Al Jazeera successful an email interview, referring to thousands of Afghan refugees and migrants expelled by the 2 countries successful caller months.

“In the 2023 Herat earthquake, astir six retired of 10 of those who mislaid their lives were women, and astir two-thirds of those injured were women,” Ferguson added. In October 2023, 3 consecutive earthquakes – each much than magnitude 6 – near ample parts of Herat state successful ruins, with astir 1,400 radical killed, thousands injured, and respective villages flattened.

But galore women Al Jazeera spoke to said, aft the caller earthquake, they were successful information rescued by antheral assistance workers.

Gulalai, a nonmigratory of Aurak Dandila colony successful Kunar’s Nurgal district, mislaid each six children and was severely wounded. Her brother-in-law carried her to safety. “I was screaming successful symptom and waiting to beryllium rescued,” she said.

They were capable to awesome to a rescue chopper flying past the area. “It couldn’t onshore astatine the determination wherever we were, and they had to transportation america to wherever the chopper could land. The rescue squad came. They cleaned my wounds, patched my injuries, and evacuated me,” said Gulalai, who gave lone her archetypal name.

Taliban officials besides told Al Jazeera they were committed to ensuring that women are decently treated by antheral wellness workers if necessary.

Najibullah Haqqani, Kunar’s provincial manager for the Ministry of Information and Culture, said the Afghan subject and volunteers “evacuated and cared for everyone”.

“On the 2nd day, UNICEF acceptable up a aesculapian session successful [Kunar’s] Nurgal district, and they had pistillate doctors arsenic well. We took arsenic galore injured radical arsenic the session could grip there, and they were treating everyone, antheral and female. In immoderate exigency situation, determination is nary gender-based discrimination; immoderate doc disposable volition dainty immoderate patients coming in. The precedence is redeeming lives,” helium said.

Unhygienic conditions

Still, accidental pistillate volunteers and leaders of planetary nonprofits, women and girls who survived the earthquake continue to struggle arsenic they conflict injuries and hard conditions successful alleviation camps.

According to a UN-led appraisal connected September 16, much than 7,700 families displaced by the earthquake were inactive sheltering successful unfastened spaces successful 2 main locations successful Nurgal district.

There are nary gendered toilets — a occupation for men and women. But for women, societal barriers mean that sharing toilet spaces with men is peculiarly challenging.

“They often hold until precocious astatine nighttime oregon aboriginal successful the greeting to usage the toilets successful the camps,” said Ruhila Mateen, a spokeswoman for Aseel, an Afghan organisation facilitating exigency aid, adding that the organisation was focusing connected gathering much toilets for women successful the area.

“Women survivors person besides reported experiencing fever, diarrhoea, bellyaches, kidney and tummy symptom owed to unhygienic conditions [in the camps],” Mateen added.

Shortage of pistillate aesculapian staff

A shortage of pistillate unit has besides affected the exigency and healthcare services that women could person received.

While women are inactive allowed to enactment successful Afghanistan’s aesculapian sector, galore pistillate aesculapian professionals person near the state since the Taliban’s takeover. Some of those who person stayed backmost accidental the group’s policies person made it harder for them to enactment due to the fact that of restrictions connected their movements. Women successful galore parts of Afghanistan are forbidden from travelling by themselves, requiring a mahram to determination astir publicly.

The Taliban’s prohibition connected women’s higher acquisition has besides stopped galore of them from continuing their aesculapian education. Since the ban, determination person been nary caller pistillate aesculapian graduates successful Afghanistan.

Pregnant women are peculiarly susceptible successful the aftermath of calamities similar the caller earthquake, said Pashtana Durrani, laminitis of Learn Afghanistan, an NGO that trains midwives and nurses, defying the Taliban’s prohibition connected women’s education.

“Women who are large are not capable to question aesculapian attraction astatine all,” she told Al Jazeera. The blimpish quality of Afghan nine means women are either uncomfortable oregon not allowed to interact with antheral doctors connected issues of maternal and reproductive health.

Durrani’s squad of 5 pistillate aesculapian workers went to 3 districts successful Nangarhar with aesculapian equipment, including ultrasound machines, aft the earthquake. While they were capable to dainty immoderate large women, determination remains an urgent request to scope much than 11,600 large women affected by the quake, the UNFPA said successful a study earlier this month.

Afghanistan has 1 of the highest maternal mortality rates successful the South Asian region. As of 2023, the state recorded 521 maternal deaths per 100,000 unrecorded births, galore times the determination mean of 120, according to the World Bank.

Some openness

Ferguson of UN Women said pistillate humanitarians were captious to overcoming sex barriers successful times of crisis, similar the aftermath of earthquakes. “Without them, excessively galore women and girls volition miss retired connected life-saving assistance,” she said. “It is indispensable that women are delivering assistance to women and girls.”

Mateen of Aseel NGO said life-saving assistance for women needed to beryllium accompanied by the indispensable professionals and infrastructure to administer it.

“Sending medicines without doctors to present them oregon sending hygiene kits for women without providing entree to toilets is not of overmuch use,” she said.

Durrani of Learn Afghanistan, however, said determination was increasing acceptance of assistance workers moving with women.

“Yes, these are blimpish communities, but astatine the aforesaid time, they person been precise unfastened to receiving assistance and support,” she said. “A batch of section radical person reached retired to america and person supported america and helped america a lot. So I deliberation each of that counts.”

(Additional reporting by Sorin Furcoi from Kunar and Nangarhar provinces, Afghanistan)