“While the main replicas have passed, or have passed mainly, Women in affected areas face a long -term disaster without more urgent assistance“Susan Ferguson, a special representative of UN women in Afghanistan said.
A rescuer woman supported by the UN agency described “Declaving” along the sides of the mountains, “dodge rocks that fall every time there was a replica”Mrs. Ferguson told journalists in Geneva. “Another woman who joined these teams, again with our support, said there was no other channel for women to share their needs and concerns, since they are restricted to talk to men.”
Fleeing with nothing
In the more than two weeks since an earthquake of magnitude of 6.0 of 6.0 hit East Afghanistan, rescuers have fought with extremely challenging land, often on foot, to reach the most remote communities in the province of Kunar.
At least 2,200 people were killed when the houses built on the steep slopes collapsed above the other when the earthquake occurred around midnight on August 31.
After meeting surviving women who live in a basic store in the Chawkay district in the central province of Kunar, Mrs. Ferguson said it was clear that they would soon need a more resistant refuge, as temperatures begin to fall.
“These women had fled their people in the middle of the night when the earthquake hit, walking for hours to find temporary refuge“She said.
“They told me that they had lost their relatives, many still buried in the rubble. They lost their homes; they lost their livelihoods and their source of income. As a woman told me:” Now we have nothing. ”
Prohibit workers
The humanitarian response to disaster has been hindered by Taliban leadership Prohibit women and contractors for Afghan women from entering the UN compounds in the capitalKabul, cash since September 7.
“The prohibition is affecting us because our woman is not allowed to come to the office to work,” said UN representative.
“However, women’s staff in the humanitarian response can still operate in sites affected by the earthquake. And this is really essential and has been recognized as essential.”
Women and girls represented more than half of those killed and injured in the disaster. They also represent 60 percent of those who are still missing, while many survivors live in tents or in the open, as witnessed by UN women’s evaluation teams.
Cultural abyss
Providing medical care to tragedy survivors is still a priority, as well as finding enough women to do this work, in line with culturally accepted practices. “What I heard from health workers and some women was that there was a particular area in the area affected by the earthquake where there were cultural norms that meant that The women themselves did not want men to touch them and that men also did not want to touch women while trying to rescue them“Mrs. Ferguson explained.
The destruction of the basic infrastructure has increased the threat of violence against women and girls, since they are forced to walk further in search of a bathroom, or collect water, exposing them to the risk of violence and terrestrial mines.
“In everyday life, in this cultural context, these women already face a uphill battle every day to survive and support their families,” said Ferguson. “Now, in interruption and chaos after the earthquake, these women will be exponentially more difficult to feed their children and find a safe place to stay.”
Satellite images have revealed that more than 649,000 tons of debris, equivalent to 40,500 trucks, must still be cleaned. According to the UN Development Program (UNDP) that analyzed the data, at least 23,000 people may have been forced from their homes.