WHO urges IEA to lift female aid worker restrictions after deadly quake

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called on Afghanistan’s Islamic Emirate authorities to ease restrictions on female aid workers, saying their presence is vital in delivering medical assistance to women affected by last week’s powerful earthquake.

The 6.0-magnitude quake on September 1 killed more than 2,200 people, injured over 3,600, and left thousands homeless in eastern Afghanistan.

With most medical staff in the area being men, WHO officials warn that Afghan women are struggling to access care due to cultural barriers and rules requiring a male guardian for travel.

“A very big issue now is the increasing paucity of female staff in these places,” Dr. Mukta Sharma, deputy representative of WHO in Afghanistan, told Reuters. She said roughly 90% of available health workers in the area were men, while the remaining 10% were mostly midwives and nurses rather than doctors equipped to treat serious injuries.

Restrictions on women’s work have compounded the problem. In 2022, the Islamic Emirate barred Afghan women from working for NGOs, though limited exemptions were granted in health and education. Humanitarian groups say those exemptions are inconsistent, leaving aid agencies uncertain and often unable to deploy female staff when emergencies strike.

“The restrictions are huge, the mahram (male guardian) issue continues and no formal exemption has been provided by the de facto authorities,” Sharma said. “This is the time you really need to have more female health workers present, let us bring them in.”

Community members say the absence of female doctors has already worsened the crisis. “There is no female doctor for examinations; only one male doctor is available,” said Peer Gul, a resident of Kunar’s Somai district, one of the hardest-hit areas.

WHO also warned that the situation threatens women’s long-term access to mental health care, particularly for those who lost male relatives in the quake and now face restrictions without a guardian. The shortage of female doctors is expected to deepen, with women currently barred from secondary school and university education.

The United Nations estimates that around 11,600 pregnant women were impacted by the quake. Afghanistan already suffers one of Asia’s highest maternal mortality rates, while recent cuts in foreign aid have forced the closure of dozens of health facilities in quake-affected provinces.

The Afghan health ministry and IEA spokespersons have not yet commented. The Islamic Emirate has repeatedly said it respects women’s rights under its interpretation of Islamic law and has pledged that women will continue to receive aid.