Earthquake in Afghanistan: Women agonize for days because only doctors can treat them.

Kabul"I was in unbearable pain for nights until a doctor finally arrived who was able to treat me," laments Qamro Jan, an Afghan woman who has been in agony for days after being seriously injured by the terrible earthquake that shook the province of Kunar on Monday, in eastern Afghanistan. Kunar is one of the most conservative provinces in the country, and male doctors rarely treat women. In other words, only a female doctor can assist them. Under the Taliban, this situation has worsened, and the earthquake has been devastating: hundreds of injured women have had to wait hours and days without medical attention until doctors from international organizations arrived in the area. And yet, they are not enough.

The earthquake has already caused more than 2,200 deaths and 3,600 injuries, and this Saturday saw new aftershocks with a magnitude of up to 5.2 on the Richter scale. Rescue teams continue working to help victims and recover bodies from the rubble, but they are overwhelmed.

Kunar is a particularly mountainous area, and landslides caused by the earthquake have blocked roads and prevented the arrival of heavy machinery. In many villages, there are no excavators, and people must dig up the victims with picks, shovels, and sometimes their bare hands. More bodies are found every day. Some are already decomposing; the stench is nauseating and makes the air unbreathable.

Organizations such as UNICEF, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and Save the Children have sent nurses and doctors to the earthquake site, but they are not enough to care for the many injured women. The Taliban claim to have also sent medical teams, but no women appear in official photos from the Ministry of Health.

Since the Taliban came to power in 2021, their successive decrees against women have forced many female doctors to leave the country. Others, in response to Taliban regulations, such as the requirement of a male escort (mahram) to go to the hospital, have quit their jobs or moved to Kabul or other provinces with fewer restrictions. Furthermore, the Taliban's ban on women pursuing higher education, including medicine and midwifery, has impeded the training of new health professionals. As a result, there are now hardly any doctors left in Kunar.

Pregnant women are the most vulnerable. Aid workers say some have suffered serious complications while waiting in tents for a doctor to see them. "The situation here is critical. The women are physically injured and traumatized. We try to treat as many patients as possible, but those we can't help are sent to hospitals in other provinces," says a volunteer doctor at a mobile clinic.

It is also unknown what will happen to widows. After their husbands died in the earthquake, they are left alone with their young children and no income in a country where the Taliban often prevent women from working outside the home and men traditionally provide for the family. What will become of them?

In every village, survivors describe the same scenes: children screaming under collapsed roofs, mothers pulling the lifeless bodies of their babies from the rubble, fathers searching for their relatives with their bare hands... "Two of my daughters, my wife and my son were buried under the rubble," he says, his voice breaking. "I had to save them. Even my flock, which was the only one left to live, died. Only one of my daughters survived, but she is injured."

Some injured people have been taken to local clinics in Kunar or to hospitals in the neighboring province of Nangarhar. But the massive influx of patients has overwhelmed Afghanistan's already fragile health system. There are not enough beds, the corridors are crowded, and many injured are lying on the floor or in makeshift tents. Most suffer from fractures, head injuries, and internal bleeding. Some mobile medical teams have been deployed to the earthquake zone, but they are unable to cope.

There's also a shortage of medicines, even bandages and painkillers. Health centers are urging survivors to go to pharmacies to buy the medicines and medical supplies they need, but many have lost everything and can't afford the cheapest pills. "Before, we had nothing. Now we have less than nothing," laments one man.

There's a lack of food and drinking water.

Survivors are not only mourning the dead, they are also struggling to survive. The constant aftershocks shaking the area after Monday's earthquake are forcing families to sleep outdoors, afraid to return home. Makeshift tents dot the devastated landscape, but they are not enough to protect people from the wind and cold.

Food and drinking water are also in short supply. The World Food Programme, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), and the International Committee of the Red Cross have sent convoys of flour, oil, and lentils to the area, but distribution is slow, and needs far outweigh supplies.

Local communities in other provinces have also mobilized, collecting food, medicine, and tents for the survivors. "I came here to help the survivors and brought the supplies I could carry. People are in desperate need, and we can't abandon them," explains one of them, Akhtar Gul, who traveled on foot to the village of Mazardara, where authorities estimate more than 1,820 people have died. Other volunteers describe horrific scenes: parents carrying the bodies of their lifeless children wrapped in blankets, entire families buried together, neighbors organizing funerals for dozens of people...

The Taliban have tried to project an image of effectiveness in the face of the tragedy. For example, they have asked businesspeople and NGOs to send aid to the devastated area, and some of their leaders have traveled there. State media has provided extensive coverage. However, survivors say that most of the aid has come from international agencies and Afghans from other provinces who have brought food, clothing, and medicine.

This time, the Taliban have not imposed any censorship and have allowed Afghan journalists and even bloggers to reach the affected areas to report on the situation. Reports and images of collapsed houses and mass funerals have filled Afghan social media and news outlets. The reason for this is to raise awareness. The disaster is so severe that international aid is needed.