Shortage of Female Doctors in Kunar; Injured Women and Girls Left Without Care After Earthquake

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Following Sunday night’s deadly earthquake in Kunar province, local sources have raised grave concerns about the critical condition of the injured, particularly women and girls. Residents say the lack of female doctors in health centers has left hundreds of injured women without proper treatment.

Mohammad Wali, a local resident, told Zan News with a choked voice: “Most of the injured are women and girls. When they are pulled out from under the rubble, because there are no female doctors, they are not given any medical care. The only option is to transfer them to other provinces, which is full of risks and delays.”

This comes as the Taliban’s Ministry of Defense announced one day after the disaster that the death toll had surpassed 700 and the number of injured exceeded 2,000. The earthquake, which struck during the night, destroyed several villages in Kunar’s mountainous areas and trapped many families beneath the rubble.

Women’s rights activists and local health sources say the severe shortage of female doctors and nurses in local hospitals and clinics once again highlights the urgent need for women’s presence in the country’s health system. In the traditional culture of eastern Afghanistan, many families do not allow their women to be examined by male doctors, a reality that in today’s crisis could cost lives.

Residents and aid organizations are urging the international community and health agencies for immediate assistance. They warn that transferring injured women to other provinces is time-consuming and expensive, and without urgent treatment on site, the death toll is likely to rise further.