WHO urges Taliban to lift restrictions on women aid workers

The World Health Organization has asked 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.

“A very big issue now is the increasing paucity of female staff in these places,” Dr Mukta Sharma, the deputy representative of WHO’s Afghanistan office, told Reuters.

She estimated around 90 per cent of medical staff in the area were male, and the remaining 10 per cent were often midwives and nurses, rather than doctors, who could treat severe wounds. This was hampering care as women were uncomfortable or afraid to interact with male staff and travel alone to receive care.

The September 1 magnitude 6 quake and its aftershocks injured more than 3,600 people and left thousands homeless in a country already dealing with severe aid cuts and a slew of humanitarian crises since the Taliban took over in 2021 as foreign forces left.

The Afghan health ministry and a spokesperson for the Taliban administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Taliban says it respects women’s rights in line with its interpretation of Islamic law and have previously said they would ensure women could receive aid. Its administration in 2022 ordered Afghan female NGO staff to stop working outside the home.