The United Nations has urged the Taliban to allow women to carry out aid work in Afghanistan, following major earthquakes in the country’s east.
The Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, and banned women from working for the UN the following year.
Witnesses told The New York Times last week that some male rescuers left women under rubble, because they were afraid to break rules about touching women they are not related to.
Background
The Taliban is an extremist Islamist group that held power in Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.
In 2021, it seized power again after the U.S. (and allies including Australia) withdrew troops from Afghanistan.
The Taliban has since imposed several restrictions on women, including banning them from high schools, universities, and most forms of employment.
Women’s faces and bodies must be fully covered in public, and their voices must not be heard.
The regime also forbids men and women who aren’t related from looking at each other or touching one another.
Women are not allowed to be treated by male medical professionals without a male family member present. In some provinces, male medical professionals are completely banned from treating female patients.
The Taliban has said its laws “are derived from Islamic sources”.
Earthquake
Earlier this month, three earthquakes ranging from 5.2 to 6.2 in magnitude were felt in eastern Afghanistan.
According to data cited by the UN, more than 2,200 people have been killed and more than 3,640 injured.
Close to 7,000 homes have been destroyed.
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Rescue efforts were impeded by landslides blocking access and strict laws.
Aid
The UN said this week security forces had gathered at entrances to its offices in the capital, Kabul, to stop women from entering.
UN Women Afghanistan representative Susan Ferguson said the last time Afghanistan had an earthquake, in 2023, 60% of those killed were women.
“Women and girls will again bear the brunt of this disaster,” Ferguson said.
The New York Times reported some male rescuers had picked up women killed in the earthquake by their clothes to avoid skin contact.
United Nations
The UN’s office in Afghanistan is calling for the “immediate lifting of restrictions” by the Taliban to allow critical support to women.
In a statement, it said it had negotiated arrangements with the Taliban in the past “to deliver critical assistance across the country... by women, for women.”
The Taliban told international news service Reuters it would make sure women received aid.
Australia
Last year, Australia, Germany, Canada, and the Netherlands formally accused the Taliban of repressing the rights of Afghan women and girls.
At the time, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said the Taliban “has demonstrated contempt for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of women and girls.”
Last week, the Australian Government announced it will provide $1 million in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan through the UN to ensure aid reaches those in need, “and not the Taliban regime,” Wong said.
