WHO Urges Taliban to Lift Female Aid Worker Restrictions Following Devastating Earthquakes
Tawazon – The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged the Taliban to lift the ongoing restrictions on the movement and activities of female aid workers, allowing them to travel without a male guardian to earthquake affected areas in eastern Afghanistan, so they can provide critical medical and psychosocial support to women in need.
This appeal comes in the wake of a deadly earthquake that struck eastern provinces of Afghanistan on August 31, with a magnitude of 6.0, killing more than 2,200 people, injuring over 3,600, and leaving thousands homeless.
Dr Mukta Sharma, the deputy representative of WHO’s Afghanistan office, highlighted the critical need, telling Reuters: “A very big issue now is the increasing paucity of female staff in these places.”
The WHO emphasized that female aid workers play an essential role in reaching vulnerable women and children, especially in conservative communities where male workers cannot engage directly with female patients. Without lifting these restrictions, critical life-saving services could be delayed or denied altogether.
She estimated that around 90 per cent of medical staff in the area were male, with the remaining 10 per cent often midwives and nurses, rather than doctors. “This disparity means women are uncomfortable or afraid to interact with male staff and travel alone to receive care”, Sharma added.
The Taliban banned women from working in NGOs outside their homes in 2022. Although informal exemptions have occasionally been granted in sectors like health and education, aid groups describe these exceptions as inconsistent and inadequate, especially in emergencies requiring rapid deployment of mobile medical teams.
“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 her team had raised the issue with authorities last week.
Sharma said she was extremely concerned about women in the 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.
The United Nations estimates that around 11,600 pregnant women live in the affected areas. Afghanistan already has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in Asia, and the lack of female doctors, damaged health facilities, insufficient equipment, and the absence of emergency referral systems are putting expectant mothers at extreme risk.
Before the earthquake, aid cuts had already crippled the country’s fragile health sector. According to Sharma, around 80 clinics had closed due to funding shortages, and 16 more have now shut down due to earthquake damage. Needs are soaring, while resources remain stretched thin.
Peer Gul from Somai district in Kunar province, which was severely hit by the quakes, said many women from his village had experienced trauma and high blood pressure after the earthquake and were struggling to reach medical care.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Public Health and government spokesmen have so far declined to comment. Taliban officials have repeatedly insisted that women’s rights are “guaranteed within Islamic law” and claim they are working to ensure access to healthcare for women. However, field reports from earthquake hit provinces tell a different story.
