UN Women: Women and Girls Are the Most Affected by the Eastern Afghanistan Earthquake

Photo: AFP via rferl.org

UN Women, expressing concern about the catastrophic consequences of the eastern Afghanistan earthquake, has warned that women and girls are the most vulnerable to this disaster.

This branch of the United Nations emphasized the necessity of women aid workers’ presence in the relief process and called for the needs of women and girls to be prioritized. UN Women warned that if women aid workers are excluded, Afghan women and girls may be deprived of vital assistance and essential information.

Susan Ferguson, the UN Women’s special representative in Afghanistan, said: “Women and girls will once again be the most affected, so their needs must be at the center of the relief process. Without supporting the vital work of women aid workers, there is a risk that women and girls will be deprived of access to lifesaving aid and necessary information.”

In the UN Women statement, it was mentioned that the 2023 Herat earthquake showed that about six out of ten victims were women, and nearly two-thirds of the injured were also women.

The organization called on the international community to provide more aid to meet the urgent needs of women and girls in the earthquake-affected areas, including emergency shelter, blankets, cooking utensils, hygiene supplies, medical equipment, drinking water, and food.

This statement comes as the 6-magnitude earthquake struck the provinces of Kunar, Nangarhar, Laghman, and Nuristan on Sunday night. In the latest figures, Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman of the Taliban, announced that the death toll in Kunar has reached 1,457 and the number of injured 3,394.