ISLAMABAD (Dispatches) — The World Health Organization has urged Taliban authorities to lift restrictions on Afghan female aid workers following a powerful earthquake that killed more than 2,200 people in eastern Afghanistan on Sept. 1.
Dr. Mukta Sharma, deputy representative for WHO in Afghanistan, said the lack of female health workers is severely hindering care, as many Afghan women are unable or unwilling to seek treatment from male staff due to cultural norms.
“A very big issue now is the increasing paucity of female staff in these places,” Sharma told Reuters. She estimated about 90% of medical workers in the quake-hit areas are male, with the remaining 10% mostly midwives and nurses, not doctors qualified to treat serious injuries.
The Taliban have barred most Afghan women from working for non-governmental organizations since 2022 and requires women to travel with a male guardian, or mahram. While limited exemptions exist for the health and education sectors, Sharma said they are inconsistent and insufficient during emergencies.
“The mahram issue continues, and no formal exemption has been provided,” she said. “This is the time you really need to have more female health workers present.”
The WHO estimates that about 11,600 pregnant women were affected by the magnitude 6.0 quake and its aftershocks, which also left thousands homeless. Afghanistan already has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in Asia.
Sharma also raised concerns about the long-term impact on mental health for women who lost male family members and now face restrictions on mobility and access to care.
Aid operations are further strained by funding cuts. Roughly 80 health facilities in the region have closed this year due to reduced U.S. funding, and 16 more were damaged by the quake.