According to The New York Times, many women who were trapped under the rubble or injured in the aftermath of the earthquake in Afghanistan did not receive help.
Cultural rules strictly observed by the Taliban—the prohibition of physical contact between women and strangers—were cited as the reason for this.
According to witnesses, rescuers provided aid to men and children but did not extract women. As a result, some injured women or those losing blood were forced to wait for women from other villages to arrive and died.
Sharafat Zaman, the press secretary of the Ministry of Health under Taliban management, acknowledged the shortage of female medical staff but stated that female doctors and nurses were providing aid in the Kunar, Nangarhar, and Laghman provinces.
For reference, a 6.0 magnitude earthquake was recorded in Afghanistan on the night of September 1. Later, aftershocks of 5.2 and 4.7 magnitude also occurred. As a result of the event, over 2.2 thousand people were killed and more than 3.6 thousand were injured.
