Photo: AP Photo One week after the deadly earthquake in eastern Afghanistan, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that this disaster has so far claimed more than 2,200 lives, injured 3,640 people, and destroyed nearly 6,800 houses. In the mountainous areas with difficult access, search operations for survivors and the delivery of urgent assistance are still ongoing. According to the latest WHO report, about 84,000 people in Kunar, Nangarhar and Laghman provinces have been affected by this incident. Among the injured, 42 percent are women and girls, and 10.3 percent are children under the age of five. The organization stressed: “There is an urgent need for psychosocial and health support for children and families.” So far, more than 400 counseling and psychological referrals have been provided by mobile teams. WHO also reported that 43 tons of medicine and medical supplies have been sent to the affected areas and mobile health teams in Noorgul district of Kunar and Nangarhar are providing medical and psychological services. The organization warned that between 2 and 7 September alone, 734 cases of communicable diseases were recorded in Kunar, including 473 cases of respiratory infections, 231 cases of diarrhea, and 39 cases of malaria. Women and children are the most vulnerable to contracting these diseases and to serious consequences. One of the major challenges in the relief process has been identified as the shortage of female doctors, a problem that severely limits women’s and girls’ access to medical services. The World Health Organization stated that it needs 4 million dollars in emergency aid to continue operations and provide an immediate response to the needs of survivors. This comes after a 6-magnitude earthquake shook the eastern provinces of Afghanistan, especially Kunar, on Sunday evening (31 August). The Taliban have also announced that the death toll from this event has so far exceeded 2,200 dead and 3,600 injured.

Photo: United Nations / DPPA Reporters Without Borders (RSF), condemning the ongoing harassment of Afghan journalists by the Taliban, has called on third countries to protect them from the danger of forced return to Afghanistan by granting visas and ensuring security. Martin Roux, head of RSF’s Crisis Desk, in reaction to the situation of Afghan journalists said: “Since the takeover of Kabul on 15 August 2021, the Taliban have steadily tightened their grip on Afghanistan’s media and journalists. These men and women, who are only carrying out their mission of reporting the facts, face threats, arrest and torture every day. After four years of Taliban rule, the constant risks, uncertainty, and challenges that journalists face even in countries where they flee have become unbearable.” He emphasized: “The admission of Afghan journalists must be reassessed in light of the severity of this international crisis. Whether as a transit country or as a final host, all states need to stop ignoring this issue, recognize the risk of deporting or expelling these journalists, and ensure real protection for them through measures such as issuing visas.” According to RSF, since the beginning of 2025, 13 Afghan journalists have been forcibly returned from Pakistan while their visa applications for other countries were still under review. The organization has also reported an increase in visa rejections by France in July. RSF, citing a UN report, has warned that in 2025 alone, more than three million Afghans, including nearly 100 journalists, will be forced to return from Pakistan and Iran, a return that places journalists in Afghanistan at serious risk of human rights violations. The organization has recalled that since the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021, more than 165 journalists have been arrested, some tortured and others directly threatened. In 2024 alone, 12 media outlets were completely shut down. According to RSF, since 2021 the organization has assisted 654 Afghan journalists, 86 percent of whom have left the country. Of these, 169 journalists have been resettled in France and some continue their media activities. RSF concluded by stressing that “host or transit countries must not turn a blind eye to the danger of sending Afghan journalists back. Deportation or visa rejection directly returns these journalists into the hands of the Taliban.”

Photo: Getty Images / via BBC The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that Taliban restrictions on female doctors in Kunar have seriously hindered the care of earthquake victims. The organization wrote in a new report on Sunday (September 7) that restrictions on women’s movement have even affected children’s access to medical services. According to WHO, six mobile health teams have been deployed to Noorgul district and other areas of Kunar, but access to remote and mountainous villages remains a major challenge. The report states that about 84,000 people have been affected by the recent earthquakes and that the organization has requested four million dollars in emergency assistance to address the immediate needs of the victims. Earlier, local sources had also reported a severe shortage of female doctors in Kunar and Nangarhar, an issue that has put the lives of many women and children at risk. Seven days after the disaster, rescue operations are still ongoing. The Taliban have so far confirmed the deaths of more than 2,200 people.

Photo: Sayed Khodaiberdi Sadat/Anadolu via Aljazeera On the occasion of the fourth anniversary of Taliban control over Panjshir, civil and human rights organizations have expressed concern through reports about the intensification of human rights violations in this province. The Panjshir Global Council stated in a report that over the past four years the Taliban have committed targeted killings, summary trials, torture, arbitrary detentions, and enforced disappearances in Panjshir. The council added that the Taliban have forced hundreds of families into displacement and that people’s properties have been seized by the group’s fighters or their affiliates. According to the council, by closing schools, burning cultural centers, and converting some educational institutions into military bases, the Taliban have severely damaged the social and cultural life of the people of Panjshir. The council has called on the United Nations and international organizations to hold the perpetrators of these violations accountable in international courts. Meanwhile, the Panjshir Women’s Movement reported that 18 residents of this province have disappeared at the hands of the Taliban and published a list of their names. According to the report, the identities of 10 people have been documented, five of whom had a military background or connections with the resistance front, while 12 others were civilians. The movement emphasized that the Taliban have systematically carried out extrajudicial killings, torture, and enforced disappearances, and called on international organizations, especially the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances, to urgently pursue the matter. It also stressed the need for truth-seeking, documentation, and psychological, legal, and media support for the families of the victims. These reports come as over the past four years the Taliban have arrested, imprisoned, and in some cases killed dozens of Panjshir residents not only in this province but also in Kabul and other provinces.

Photo: Saifurahman Safi / Xinhua News Agency The Taliban have announced in their latest figures that the number of fatalities from the Kunar earthquake has reached 2,250, while 3,640 people have been injured. Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for the Taliban, said in a statement on Thursday (September 4) that the bodies of hundreds of victims have been recovered from under the rubble in the districts of Chawkay, Dewagal, Dara-i-Chapa, and Manogi. He added that tents have been set up for a number of the affected families and the delivery of emergency aid is ongoing. However, rescue operations are still underway and many bodies remain trapped under the rubble. This comes after the Taliban had reported just a day earlier that the death toll stood at 1,457 with 3,394 injured.

After the 6-magnitude earthquake that left more than 1,450 dead and 3,500 injured, the Taliban’s Taliban’s Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs has called on people to “repent and pray” instead of taking relief or scientific measures. Four days after the powerful earthquake in eastern Afghanistan, particularly in Kunar province, the Taliban’s Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs issued a four-page sermon declaring the quake to be the result of “people’s sins and disobedience to divine orders.” This comes while nearly 6,000 houses have been destroyed and many families are still unable to recover the bodies of their loved ones from under the rubble. The statement makes no mention of the scientific causes of earthquakes, preventive measures, or safety recommendations, and instead only urges people to turn to “repentance, lamentation, prayer, and patience.” The Taliban ministry also asked mosque imams to dedicate the Friday sermon to explaining “divine punishment” and the “oppression of returning migrants.” Reports from affected areas show that the Taliban’s prohibition on women and girls being treated by male doctors has sharply increased the death toll among women and children. Local residents say that the lack of immediate and scientific relief measures has further worsened the crisis and doubled the psychological and economic pressure on affected families. The 6-magnitude earthquake has killed more than 1,450 people and injured more than 3,500 others. International experts and aid workers warn that the continuation of this trend and the absence of crisis management could increase the human toll even further. At a time when every minute of delay in relief efforts can threaten the lives of dozens, religious statements without scientific basis have effectively replaced the response to a humanitarian crisis and intensified criticism of the Taliban’s policies in dealing with natural disasters.

Photo: TajudeenOyewale/X Tajuddin Oyewale, UNICEF’s representative in Afghanistan, by publishing images of female doctors in Kunar, emphasized that their presence in treating earthquake victims is vital. He wrote that these doctors are treating children, women, and men affected by the earthquake. UNICEF also announced that in just the first 72 hours after the earthquake, more than 2,500 trauma cases had been treated by the organization’s medical teams. This comes as local sources had earlier reported a severe shortage of female doctors in Kunar and Nangarhar. According to them, at least six pregnant women died after premature births caused by the shock of the earthquake due to the absence of female doctors, and several others lost their newborns. Meanwhile, the Afghanistan Human Rights Center (AHRC), expressing concern, warned that women and girls should not be deprived of receiving vital aid because of Taliban restrictions and discrimination. The organization stressed that delays in delivering aid and ignoring women could put the lives of many at risk. AHRC called on aid agencies, neighboring countries, and the international community to allocate more resources to save the lives of survivors, rebuild villages, and provide urgent needs before the arrival of winter, while at the same time continuing support for Afghan refugees.

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.

Naaji Noushi, an Indian woman traveler, has released a new video from her trip to Afghanistan, warning that under Taliban rule the country is no longer a safe destination for tourism and advising her followers not to travel there. In this video, published on Wednesday (September 3), a Taliban member at a checkpoint is seen insistently trying to obtain the WhatsApp number of the Indian traveler. The Taliban member also takes a photo of the woman’s passport page during inspection, an action that Noshi said left her surprised and concerned. Naaji Noushi explained in her video: “Traveling to Afghanistan under Taliban rule is neither safe nor recommended, especially for women.” This incident comes at a time when Afghan women under Taliban rule are facing severe restrictions. The Taliban have deprived women of driving, traveling, education, and many social activities, and suppress them under various pretexts. Afghanistan, once striving to change part of its war-torn image by attracting foreign tourists, has now, under Taliban policies, turned into a dangerous and restricted place for women, both Afghan and foreign. The release of Naaji Noushi’s video has sparked wide reactions on social media and once again drawn global attention to the situation of women in Afghanistan. She ended her message with a firm reminder: “Do not travel to Afghanistan under Taliban rule.” video shared by naajinoushi_solo_momtraveller on social media.

The Afghanistan Women’s Movement in Exile, in a statement of protest, has condemned the Taliban’s decision to remove women’s photos from ID cards, calling it a “clear violation of citizenship rights” and part of the group’s “gender apartheid project.” The statement says that over the past three years, the Taliban, through a series of discriminatory policies—from depriving women of education and work to imposing severe restrictions on movement and exclusion from public life—have now reached the point of “denying women’s official identity.” The movement has described the Taliban’s decision as part of an organized project for the systematic elimination of women, stressing: “The Taliban use women’s identity not to respect their rights, but solely to legitimize their illegal rule.” Addressing the international community, the United Nations, and human rights organizations, the Afghanistan Women’s Movement in Exile has called for immediate action and serious pressure on the Taliban to prevent Afghan women from being made “faceless and without identity.” The statement further emphasizes: “Afghan women cannot be erased. We have the right to preserve our image, identity, and presence in all areas. Afghan women are not faceless, they are not without identity, and they will never be silenced.” This stance comes after Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s supreme leader, recently issued a verbal order banning the inclusion of women’s photos in national ID cards. A few days later, the Taliban’s statistics office announced that including women’s photos in ID cards would be “optional.” Meanwhile, Sara Adams, a former CIA officer, in response to this decision, published photos of several Taliban officials’ wives on social media. She warned that if the restriction is not lifted, more photos would be made public. Adams released these images on her X account under the title “Housewives of the Taliban,” saying the photos were obtained from diplomatic passports.