Horror over horror. After the earthquake which left more than 2,200 dead and 3,600 injured in eastern Afghanistan, the injured women found themselves without help, dismissed by rescue teams made up of men, reports the New York Times. In several villages in the province of Kunar, male rescuers have refused to assist them, invoking the rules imposed by the Taliban who prohibit any physical contact between men and women not related.
“They gathered us in a corner and forgot us”testifies Bibi Aysha, 19, with the American daily. In Mazar Dara, a volunteer, Tahzeebullah Muhazeb, confirms that women trapped under the rubble had to wait for the arrival of villagers to be cleared. “It felt like women were invisible. Men and children were treated as a priority, women remained away ”he deplores.
An “increasingly untenable” situation
Four years after taking Kabul by the Taliban on August 15, 2021, the UN agency for gender equality, UN Women, describes the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan and “More and more untenable”. Girls no longer have access to school beyond primary school, women can only travel accompanied by a male tutor and are dismissed from most jobs, especially in NGOs and humanitarian aid. The lack of doctors and female rescuers was sorely felt after this disaster.
A spokesperson for the Afghan Ministry of Health, questioned by the New York Timesrecognized the absence of caregivers in the disaster areas, while ensuring that “In the hospitals of Kunar, Nangarhar and Laghman, the greatest number of women doctors and nurses work, in particular to treat the victims of the earthquake”. If the results of the disappeared and injured people is known, the Taliban have not specified how many women are among the victims.
