Last night, Kunar and Nangarhar provinces witnessed a deadly earthquake. The Taliban have said that 800 people lost their lives and 2,500 were injured in this incident. However, local sources say that the shortage of female doctors in the health centers of these two provinces has caused female earthquake victims to be deprived of urgent treatment and to lack access to emergency health services. Sources say that injured women, due to the lack of female health staff, are forced to wait for hours, or their treatment process faces delays. Local sources warn that if urgent action is not taken to increase the capacity of health centers and the presence of female doctors, the situation will become worse.
Several earthquake victims and local sources in conversation with the Hasht-e Subh Daily say that the casualty figures provided are beyond what the media has covered. According to them, women and girls are in worse condition and need urgent medical assistance.
Zamir Sardarkhel, one of the residents of Kunar district, says that women and girls injured by the earthquake are in more difficult conditions, and with the increase in the number of wounded, the shortage of medical assistance personnel is significantly felt. He considers the statistics provided by the media to be incorrect and emphasizes that, based on the current situation, the number of casualties and wounded is more than what has been reported, and these figures are still increasing.
Sardarkhel says: “Most of the casualties and wounded are women and children, and hospitals are facing a serious shortage of female staff. The existing number also does not meet the needs.” He continues: “We ask relief organizations to take action as soon as possible, because the victims are living in the worst conditions and urgently need food, medicine, treatment, and shelter. The statistics of killed and wounded are increasing moment by moment.”
Also, another source who asked for anonymity in the report says: “A large number of earthquake-affected women and children have been transferred to health centers in Kunar and Nangarhar districts; but unfortunately, the shortage of female doctors has caused serious problems in attending to this vulnerable group.” He warns that if urgent measures are not taken to increase the capacity of health centers and the presence of female doctors, the situation could become worse.
This source adds: “This is an Afghanistan society where a man cannot touch or treat a woman. Many women have been forced to wait for hours to receive medical services, and in some cases, attending to them has been delayed due to the absence of female doctors. This issue causes the casualty figures or victims to increase, and many women lose their lives.”
Previously, the Taliban’s Ministry of Public Health had also confirmed that some of the country’s eastern provinces are facing a shortage of female doctors. The victims of the deadly Kunar earthquake are complaining about the shortage of female doctors and health staff, while the Taliban have closed universities, especially medical education institutions, to girls and women in Afghanistan over the past four years.
This group has closed all universities, institutes, and health education centers, including midwifery, nursing, and medical technology fields, to girls and women.
Women and girls who are victims of the deadly earthquake in Kunar and Nangarhar are suffering from the shortage of female doctors and health staff and are struggling with death while Zabihullah Mujahid, Taliban spokesman, in his latest statements has described the issue of women’s education as “minor”; while this decision has put the lives of hundreds of women and girls at risk of death and destruction.
Previously, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) had warned that the shortage of professional health staff and lack of health facilities had put the lives of a large number of citizens at serious risk.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
کمبود پزشکان زن در مناطق زلزلهزده؛ طالبان مسوول مرگ تدریجی زنان کنر و ننگرهار
