WHO urges Taliban to let female aid workers help quake-hit Afghan women

After a deadly earthquake killed 2,200 in eastern Afghanistan, the WHO said women need female doctors, but Taliban rules stop female aid workers from travelling freely

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called on Taliban authorities to lift restrictions on female aid workers in Afghanistan, news agency Reuters reported. This would allow them to travel without male guardians and provide help to women struggling to access medical care after a devastating earthquake in eastern Afghanistan killed 2,200 people.

 

"A very big issue now is the increasing paucity of female staff in these places," Mukta Sharma, deputy representative of WHO's Afghanistan office, told Reuters.

 

Sharma said about 90 per cent of medical staff in the earthquake-hit areas are men. The remaining 10 per cent are mostly midwives and nurses rather than doctors capable of treating severe injuries. This shortage is making it difficult for women to seek care, as many are uncomfortable or afraid to interact with male staff or travel alone.   

 

 

Earthquake worsens humanitarian crisis

 

The September 1 earthquake, measuring 6.0 in magnitude, along with its aftershocks, injured more than 3,600 people and left thousands homeless. Afghanistan was already facing severe aid cuts and multiple humanitarian crises after the Taliban took power in 2021, following the departure of foreign forces.

 

The Taliban claims it respects women’s rights according to its interpretation of Islamic law and has said it will allow women to receive aid. However, in 2022, it ordered female Nnon-government organisation (NGO) staff to stop working outside the home. Some exemptions exist for health and education sectors, but these are inconsistent and insufficient to support a surge of female staff during emergencies.

 

"The restrictions are huge, the mahram (male guardian requirements) issue continues and no formal exemption has been provided by the de facto authorities," Sharma said. "That's why we felt we had to advocate with (authorities) to say, this is the time you really need to have more female health workers present, let us bring them in, and let us search from other places where they're available."

 

Sharma warned that women may struggle to access mental health services in the future, especially those traumatised by the earthquake or left without male family members.   

 

Shrinking pipeline of female doctors

 

The shortage of female doctors is worsening because the Taliban have barred girls from high school and university, preventing new women from entering the medical profession. The UN estimates around 11,600 pregnant women were affected by the quake in a country with some of the highest maternal mortality rates in Asia.

 

Cuts in international aid, including by the US this year, have left Afghanistan's health system struggling. Sharma said about 80 health facilities had already closed in affected areas due to US aid cuts, and 16 more health posts had to shut down because of earthquake damage.

 

(With agency inputs)