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When Rescue Is Redirected: How Natural Disasters Impact Women and the Hazara in Afghanistan
In late August, a 6.0-magnitude earthquake flattened villages across the rugged terrain of the Kunar and Nangarhar provinces of Afghanistan, leaving only mud and tumbled stone behind. As rescue efforts and aid distribution began, an aftershock measuring 5.5 in magnitude caused further destruction. Just days later, a third earthquake (5.6 magnitude) struck.
The consecutive tremors left Afghanistan’s rescue efforts reeling. As of Sept. 9, the disaster had left 2,200 people dead, with 3,600 more injured. The death toll continues to rise, driven by disrupted infrastructure that interrupted access to drinking water and sanitation systems as more victims succumb to their injuries or suffocate under debris.
In the aftermath, it has become clear that in Afghanistan under Taliban rule, politics, not logistics, determine the distribution of disaster relief. The Taliban, the country’s de facto rulers, carefully track beneficiary lists and aid recipients. The most important question remains: Who receives lifesaving care and who does not?
Historic Diversion of Aid
As documented by Amnesty International in 2023, there is a clear pattern of discriminatory earthquake relief in Afghanistan based on gender. Historically, women have faced religious restrictions that often placed them at risk of certain death. They are largely banned from working in humanitarian aid distribution or rescue efforts, thereby further exacerbating the misdirection of aid at all levels. Furthermore, the office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), the U.S. government’s leading oversight authority on Afghanistan reconstruction, reports that the Taliban have consistently mismanaged aid and diverted it away from ethnic minorities like the Hazara. The Taliban’s interpretation of Sharia mandates near-total segregation of men and women in daily life, apart from relatives. This also applies in disaster scenarios, meaning that rescuing women in crises depends solely on the survival of their family or the help of other local women. Amnesty International further reports that the Taliban would actively prevent humanitarian organizations from entering affected regions, creating rifts between humanitarian aid and those in need. This behavior from the Taliban reflects the very patterns we should be concerned about.
Those at Risk
Women in Afghanistan are at high risk during natural disasters. Reporting by The New York Times suggests that the disturbing cycle of discrimination against women in the aftermath of the most recent earthquakes is repeating. Many women in the affected Kunar and Nangarhar regions relay, via first-hand accounts, that they haven’t received aid as Taliban rescue crews pass through. In accordance with the interpretation of Sharia, the all-male rescue teams won’t assist in unearthing any of the women trapped in the rubble, either. In many such cases, the entrapped women are stuck waiting for assistance from women from neighboring towns. Thus, in the hierarchy of rescue and relief, Afghan women are effectively pushed to the bottom, left to endure delays and neglect that can prove fatal.
The Hazara people are also vulnerable when natural disasters strike. According to the New Lines’ legal report on the genocide of the Hazara in Afghanistan, the Afghan minority group is distinct in its culture, faith, and appearance. They have endured an extensive history of violence at the hands of the Taliban and are actively persecuted due to their ethnic and religious identities. The Hazara people live in small enclaves across the most affected regions in Kunar and Nangarhar. While women already face systemic exclusion from aid because of their gender, Hazara men encounter a different, yet equally perilous reality. Their ethnic and religious identity makes them targets of discrimination even amid disaster. This is corroborated by recent findings from SIGAR that show the Taliban deliberately withhold aid from the Hazara communities in need, despite international aid organizations listing them as beneficiaries. In a crisis scenario such as this, the risk of deliberate redirecting of aid is significantly higher.In a crisis scenario such as this, the risk of deliberate redirecting of aid is significantly higher.
While the plight of Hazara men is acute, Hazara women experience even greater risk during natural disasters. Dealing with both gender exclusion as well as ethnic persecution, their chances of surviving injury are incredibly slim. Because of the Taliban’s restrictions, only a minuscule number of women can work in health care, and those who are allowed to face heavy regulations. Following these rules, women can be treated only by other women. Because the number of available female health care workers is inadequate for the needs of large-scale disasters, women injured in them face a greater risk because men are forbidden from assisting them. Furthermore, out of the small fraction of medical workers capable of treating a Hazara woman, many either won’t want to, or won’t be allowed to, based on ethnic discrimination. This multitiered systemic exclusion ensures that Hazara women are the least likely to receive assistance.
Why This Matters
A natural disaster in a politicized environment can deepen preexisting persecution due to the added tension on an already discriminatory environment. The avenues for Hazara and women to receive assistance and aid are severely inhibited because the Taliban violate international norms. It breaks impartiality and neutrality rules according to international law and ignores obligations that nongovernmental organizations and donor nations expect to be followed. Overall, in times of crisis in complex areas like Afghanistan, thousands of lives hang in the balance when aid is diverted or restricted. Every delay in health care or rescue results in preventable deaths.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not an official policy or position of New Lines Institute.