GENEVA，September 20 (WSH) – Women and girls are bearing the heaviest toll of Afghanistan’s recent earthquake, one of the country’s deadliest in decades, UN Women reported Friday.
More than half of those killed or injured, and 60 percent of those missing, are women and girls, said Susan Ferguson, UN Women’s Special Representative in Afghanistan. Survivors now face hunger, loss of shelter, and rising risks of violence and exploitation.
“In Kunar province, I saw families still living in tents or in the open, without water or sanitation,” Ferguson said. “Women and girls must walk long distances for basic needs, exposing them to violence and landmines. Inside homes, gender-based violence is also increasing under the strain of displacement and loss of livelihoods.”
Particularly vulnerable are women-headed households—at least 463 identified in affected areas—as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women. With restrictions on women’s mobility, bans on women working for NGOs, and a shortage of female health workers, access to essential care is severely limited.
Ferguson stressed that women aid workers are critical: “Without women delivering assistance, we cannot reach women and girls safely.” She urged urgent support as winter nears, with UN Women appealing for $2.5 million to fund a 6–12 month emergency response and recovery plan.
(Source: UN Women)
