Kunar Earthquake Victims’ “Women”: We Are the Last to Be Seen.
Following the recent earthquake in Afghanistan’s Kunar Province, a number of affected women told the media that they were ignored during the relief efforts.
According to them, male rescuers have mostly rescued injured men and children, but bloodied women and girls have been left under the rubble for hours or left without help.
Some women stressed that even days after the incident, no female rescuers have reached their villages.
The severe shortage of female medical staff and prevailing cultural and political restrictions have made the situation even more difficult for earthquake-affected women.
Male rescuers have said that in the absence of male relatives, they have even had to use the edges of women’s clothes to pull out their bodies to avoid direct contact.
Reports indicate that although the number of injured women is high, only a small proportion of them are being transferred to hospitals.
UN representatives and women’s rights activists have warned that in the absence of female specialists, women and girls will once again bear the brunt.
The crisis has been exacerbated by the Taliban’s policy of banning medical education for women. However, Taliban officials claim that hospitals in the quake-hit areas have been fully staffed with female doctors and nurses, a claim that is not supported by local reports.
