• Source:JND
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Afghanistan’s recent earthquake has left behind not only collapsed homes and broken families but also chilling stories of neglect driven by Taliban policies. For women trapped under rubble, the first 36 hours of the disaster were marked by silence, indifference, and deadly rules that cost lives.

According to multiple reports, Taliban-enforced restrictions prevented male rescuers from physically assisting women unless a male relative was present. This “no skin contact with unrelated males” rule meant that countless injured women were left untreated or ignored, even while bleeding or pinned under debris. In some cases, their bodies were dragged by their clothes to avoid any physical touch.

“No One Helped Women”

“No one offered the women help, asked what they needed or even approached them,” said Aysha, a 19-year-old from Kunar Province. She recalled seeing women, some of them severely injured, being pushed aside and abandoned while men and children were rescued first.

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Volunteer aid workers confirmed these accounts. Tahzeebullah Muhazeb, who travelled to Mazar Dara after the quake, said that all-male medical teams hesitated to pull women out from collapsed homes. “It felt like women were invisible,” he said. “The men and children were treated first, but the women were sitting apart, waiting for care.”

Taliban Bans Leave Women Without Care

The Taliban’s restrictions have compounded the tragedy. Their long-standing ban on women working in public roles, particularly in healthcare, has left Afghanistan with a severe shortage of female doctors, nurses, and rescue workers. Earlier in 2024, the Taliban barred women from enrolling in medical education altogether, further eroding the country’s already fragile health system.

In the quake-hit areas, the consequences of these policies were devastating. With no trained female professionals nearby, women had to wait for others from distant villages to come and help. Many did not survive the wait. Aid workers noted that the absence of women in emergency response not only delayed rescue operations but also denied injured women access to even basic medical care.

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Doctors and rescue workers interviewed by The New York Times stressed that while the Taliban has not released a gender-specific breakdown of the quake’s casualties, women bore the brunt of neglect. Their plight was worsened by strict social isolation and the absence of female health professionals who could have provided life-saving assistance.