Key Takeaways
- Four years after the Taliban’s return to power, Afghanistan is facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, exacerbated by overlapping disasters such as shrinking international aid, economic uncertainty, harsh winters, and natural disasters.
- The country’s aid cuts have resulted in more than 400 health facilities closing, and hundreds of thousands of Afghans losing access to food and medical care.
- The Taliban’s restrictions on women’s rights have wiped out entire family incomes, and a generation of girls is being cut off from education.
- The recent earthquake in eastern Afghanistan has killed over 2,200 people and injured thousands more, leaving thousands of families without homes or access to basic necessities.
- Despite the challenges, there are glimmers of hope, such as the rare exception to Taliban rules allowing female health workers to operate in disaster-affected areas, providing women with unprecedented access to healthcare.
Introduction to Afghanistan’s Humanitarian Crisis
The situation in Afghanistan is dire, with one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises unfolding in the country. Four years after the Taliban’s return to power, the country is facing a series of overlapping disasters, including shrinking international aid, economic uncertainty, harsh winters, and natural disasters. Despite the fact that security is no longer the defining issue in Afghanistan, with bombings and suicide attacks now considered rare, many Afghans remain under severe strain. The roads are safe, crime is down, and there are armed checkpoints in major cities as well as entry and exit points to each province. However, rights have been devastatingly curtailed, particularly for women and girls.
The Impact of Aid Cuts on Afghans
The aid cuts have had a devastating impact on Afghans, with more than half of the population depending on humanitarian assistance. Donor funding has fallen sharply since 2021, driven by competing global crises and Western reluctance to engage with the Taliban’s repressive rule. The damage deepened further this year with the near-total shutdown of the United States Agency for International Development. As a result, only a fraction of the $3.1 billion the United Nations sought for Afghanistan has been funded. This has resulted in more than 400 health facilities closing, and hundreds of thousands of Afghans losing access to food and medical care. Doctors warn that children are dying from preventable causes, and the reality is stark inside the malnutrition ward at Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital in Kabul.
The Restrictions on Women’s Rights
The Taliban’s restrictions on women’s rights have wiped out entire family incomes. Women are banned from universities, most workplaces, parks, and bathhouses. They must cover their faces in public, travel with a male guardian, and avoid speaking loudly outside the home. The Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has replaced the ministry of women affairs and is a key tool used by the Taliban to implement its ideology. While some senior officials speak cautiously about moderation, it is the Taliban’s supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada’s vision that prevails. The restrictions have led to a generation of girls being cut off from education, and communities worry about who will become their doctors, teachers, and midwives.
The Earthquake and Its Aftermath
The recent earthquake in eastern Afghanistan has killed over 2,200 people and injured thousands more, leaving thousands of families without homes or access to basic necessities. Temporary camps have been set up to shelter those affected, but conditions are dire, with no electricity or heating to keep the camp warm. Children are coughing constantly, and health workers warn of pneumonia, measles, and whooping cough. Despite the challenges, there are glimmers of hope, such as the rare exception to Taliban rules allowing female health workers to operate in disaster-affected areas, providing women with unprecedented access to healthcare.
A Small Hope in Catastrophe
In places like Andar Lachak, which are deeply conservative communities, Taliban restrictions prohibit women from interacting with unrelated men, including doctors. However, the earthquake forced a rare exception to Taliban rules in the areas in and around Andar Lachak. Unrelated men were allowed to treat and rescue women in the community, and because of the scale of the disaster, authorities allowed female health workers to travel into the area, provided they were accompanied by a male guardian. This has meant that women in this region are now getting unprecedented access to healthcare. Shafiqa Salazai, one of just three female health workers allowed to operate in the area, travels daily from more than 100 kilometers away, counseling women who have lost homes, husbands, and children.
Conclusion
Afghanistan may be more secure than it once was, but as crises stack up — hunger, poverty, repression, and disaster — the burden is falling hardest on those with the least power to endure it. A generation of Afghan women is being asked to wait, with no clear end in sight. The international community must take notice of the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Afghanistan and take immediate action to provide aid and support to those affected. The rare exceptions to Taliban rules, such as the allowance of female health workers in disaster-affected areas, provide a glimmer of hope for the future. However, it is crucial that the international community continues to pressure the Taliban to lift its restrictions on women’s rights and provide access to education and healthcare for all Afghans.