Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai has called the devastating earthquake in eastern Afghanistan a “powerful lesson” underscoring the urgent need to end discrimination against women and girls—especially in access to education.
He emphasized that the suffering caused by the Taliban’s ban on female education became especially clear during the humanitarian response to the disaster, which disproportionately affected women.
Stanekzai, the former head of Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that the people’s solidarity is a “tremendous force” for change. He stressed that preserving human life is “one of the highest duties and purposes of Sharia,” and any knowledge or expertise that serves this goal should be considered a religious obligation.
“The recent earthquake revealed that the Taliban’s policies banning modern education and girls’ schooling are catastrophic and in direct conflict with this fundamental religious duty,” he wrote. “Who will help the innocent women and girls affected by the earthquake—and how?”
Women were among the most vulnerable victims in the recent disaster.
A female survivor told the Daily Mail that she witnessed rescue workers deliberately leave several injured women to die: “They pushed us aside and took the men for treatment. We were bleeding, and no one came to help.”
A male aid worker said he had been instructed not to speak to women, warning that even touching a deceased woman could have “serious consequences.”
With few female responders present on the ground, many injured women were unable to access even basic medical care.
The United Nations has called for women to be included in all humanitarian relief operations.
