WHO asks Taliban to lift female aid worker restrictions following earthquake
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
About 90 per cent of medical staff in Afghanistan are men, and this is hampering care, as women feel uncomfortable or afraid to interact with male staff and travel alone to receive care.
PHOTO: REUTERS
ISLAMABAD – The World Health Organisation (WHO) has asked the Taliban authorities to lift restrictions on Afghan female aid workers, allowing them to travel without male guardians and help women struggling to access care after a powerful earthquake killed 2,200 people in eastern Afghanistan.
Dr Mukta Sharma, the deputy representative of WHO’s Afghanistan office, said: “A very big issue now is the increasing paucity of female staff in these places.”
She estimated that about 90 per cent of medical staff in the area were men, with the remaining 10 per cent being mostly midwives and nurses rather than doctors able to treat severe wounds.
This has hampered care, as women are often uncomfortable or afraid to interact with male staff and to travel alone to receive care.
The 6-magnitude quake on Sept 1
The Afghan Health Ministry and a Taliban administration spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. The Taliban says it respects women’s rights in line with its interpretation of Islamic law, and has previously said it would ensure women receive aid.
Its administration in 2022 ordered Afghan female non-governmental organisation staff to stop working
Humanitarian officials say there have been exemptions, particularly in the health and education sectors, but many said these were patchwork and not sufficient to allow a surge of female staff, particularly in an emergency situation that required travel.
That meant aid organisations and female staff faced uncertainty, Dr Sharma said, and in some cases were not able to take the risk.
“The restrictions are huge, the mahram (male guardian requirements) issue continues, and no formal exemption has been provided by the de facto authorities,” she said, adding that her team had raised the issue with the authorities last week.
“That’s why we felt we had to advocate with (the 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.”
Dr Sharma said she was extremely concerned about women in future being able to access mental health care to deal with trauma as well as for those whose male family members had been killed, leaving them to navigate restrictions on women without a male guardian.
Mr Peer Gul from Somai district in Kunar province, which was severely hit by the quake, said many women from his village had experienced trauma and high blood pressure after the quake and were struggling to reach medical care.
“There is no female doctor for examinations; only one male doctor is available,” he said.
Dr Sharma noted the growing shortage of Afghan female doctors as the Taliban has barred female students from high school and university, meaning a pipeline of women doctors was not being replenished.
The UN estimates around 11,600 pregnant women were also impacted by the quake in a country with some of the highest maternal mortality rates in Asia.
Funding cuts, including by the US administration in 2024, have already left the health system reeling. About 80 health facilities had closed in the affected areas in 2025 due to US aid cuts and another 16 health posts had to be shut due to damage from the quake, Dr Sharma said. REUTERS
