Taliban Ban on Women Aid Workers: Impact on Lifesaving Services
Afghanistan’s Silent Earthquake: The Unseen Casualties of a Ban on women
Kabul, Afghanistan – The world’s attention often shifts, but in Afghanistan, the aftershocks of multiple crises continue to reverberate, leaving its most vulnerable citizens in a precarious state.While a recent earthquake has claimed thousands of lives,a less visible but equally devastating crisis is unfolding: the ban on female aid workers,crippling humanitarian efforts and leaving countless Afghans,especially women and children,in dire need.
“All of us at the United Nations are suffering from a reinforcement of the ban on females working with us,” Arafat Jamal, the UNHCR Representative to Afghanistan, stated with palpable frustration. “we are simply unable to operate without females.”
Jamal’s words paint a stark picture of the reality on the ground. Last Sunday, Afghan security forces barred national female staff members and contractors of the UN from entering UN compounds in Kabul, according to a statement released by the UN Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). this restriction has forced the UNHCR to temporarily close its vital cash and support centers for vulnerable Afghans, including those returning from neighboring countries like iran and Pakistan.
These centers are a lifeline for returnees, providing biometric data registration, screening, and interviews. “This work would be entirely impossible without Afghan female workers,” Jamal emphasized, highlighting that over half of the returnees are women. The closure of these centers leaves thousands stranded, their access to essential aid severed.
“this was an operational decision,” Jamal clarified, “It is not a decision taken to punish anyone or to make a statement, but simply it demonstrates that we cannot work without female workers in certain circumstances.”
The scale of the returnee crisis is staggering.Since the beginning of the year,approximately 2.6 million Afghans have returned, many not by choice. The pace continues to surge, with nearly 100,000 people crossing back from Pakistan in the first week of September alone. “Stretching our capacities and the capacities of this country to the limit,” Jamal warned.
Adding to the already immense challenges, Afghanistan is still reeling from the 6.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Kunar and Nangarhar provinces on August 31st, followed by multiple severe aftershocks.UNICEF reports that at least 1,172 children have died, representing more than half of the total death toll of 2,164. At least 3,428 people have been injured and at least 6,700 homes destroyed.
Dr. Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF Country Representative in Afghanistan, shared a heartbreaking account of meeting young earthquake victims in machkandol, Nangahar. He described three girls and a young boy rescued from the emergency,their faces etched with loss and uncertainty. “For the girls it was even more sobering; they where lost; they have lost their families, their homes have been destroyed,” he saeid. “The family livestock have died. And for these young girls and this young boy, the future is completely bleak.”
The affected provinces are remote and mountainous, accessible only by treacherous dirt roads. “It is filled with steep terrain, difficult navigation…it took us about three and a half hours’ drive, 40 minutes of which was on paved road and the rest was through rough mountain dirt roads, a lot of turns with jammed with oncoming vehicles and especially with falling rocks on the road,” Dr. Oyewale explained, underscoring the logistical challenges of delivering aid.
Humanitarians warn that the earthquake has compounded Afghanistan’s existing acute problems, creating a perfect storm of suffering. The ban on female aid workers, however, is a self-inflicted wound, one that directly undermines the ability to reach those most in need.
The international community must recognize that the ban on female aid workers is not just a matter of principle, but a practical impediment to saving lives. Without the full participation of women in humanitarian efforts, the future of Afghanistan, especially its women and children, hangs precariously in the balance. The world must act now to ensure that aid can reach those who desperately need it, regardless of gender. The silent earthquake of this ban is creating unseen casualties, and their stories deserve to be heard.