KABUL, Afghanistan — A 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan on August 31, 2025, killing at least 812 people and injuring more than 2,500 others, with Nangarhar Province reporting 255 injuries alone. Rescue teams continue to airlift victims from remote villages, but Taliban restrictions on women’s mobility and employment are delaying treatment for female survivors, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in a country already strained by drought and aid cuts.
The quake’s epicenter, located 27 kilometers east-northeast of Jalalabad in Nangarhar Province, hit at a shallow depth of 8 kilometers, amplifying its destructive force on mud-brick homes in the Hindu Kush region. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the casualties during a Kabul press conference on September 1, noting that 610 deaths occurred in neighboring Kunar Province, where three villages were completely razed. In Nangarhar’s Darai Nur District, 12 fatalities were recorded, with injuries overwhelming local hospitals like the Nangarhar Regional Hospital, which received over 420 casualties via 40 helicopter flights.
Background: A Quake in a Vulnerable Region
Afghanistan’s eastern provinces, including Nangarhar and Kunar, lie along active fault lines where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates converge, making seismic events common. This quake follows a pattern of deadly tremors, including a 6.3-magnitude event in Herat Province in 2023 that killed over 1,500 and a 5.9-magnitude one in Paktika in 2022 claiming 1,000 lives. The shallow nature of the September 2025 quake triggered landslides and aftershocks up to 5.2 magnitude, blocking roads and complicating access to affected areas. Recent heavy rains had already saturated the terrain, turning narrow mountain paths into impassable mudslides.
Rescue efforts involve Taliban security forces, local volunteers, and limited international support. Helicopters from the Afghan Ministry of Defense have evacuated hundreds, while the Afghan Red Crescent Society distributed emergency supplies. However, the remote location—some villages require hours-long hikes—has left many trapped under rubble for extended periods, with reports of families digging by hand through the night.
Expert Insights: Taliban Policies and Aid Challenges
Health experts highlight how Taliban governance since 2021 has hindered disaster response. “The restrictions on women’s public roles severely limit the workforce in healthcare and aid delivery,” said Deepmala Mahla, spokesperson for the humanitarian organization CARE in Afghanistan. Under Taliban edicts, women cannot travel without a male guardian, and female aid workers face bans from certain roles, reducing the pool of medical personnel available for female patients.
Sharafat Zaman, a Taliban Health Ministry spokesman, acknowledged the strain, stating that hospitals in Jalalabad are operating beyond capacity. Homa Nader, acting head of the International Federation of the Red Cross in Afghanistan, noted that teams took four hours to reach Nur Gal District, 35 miles from Jalalabad. International funding has plummeted to $767 million in 2025 from $3.8 billion in 2022, due to sanctions and donor frustration over gender policies. U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi emphasized that the quake compounds existing issues like the return of 2.3 million Afghans from Pakistan and Iran, overwhelming resources.
The Human Impact: Why Women’s Treatment Is Delayed
The disaster’s toll extends beyond numbers, particularly for women and children, who comprise a significant portion of the injured. In Nangarhar, eyewitness accounts from Jalalabad Central Hospital describe hundreds of female and child patients arriving, but treatment delays arise from cultural and regulatory barriers. Women must often wait for male relatives to accompany them to facilities, a process slowed by destroyed infrastructure and communication blackouts. One survivor, Zafar Khan Gojar, 22, recounted to reporters how his female relatives were trapped for hours before evacuation, as male-only rescue teams hesitated to enter homes without guardians present.
These delays risk secondary complications like infections in a region with crumbling healthcare. “Gender apartheid under the Taliban is turning a natural disaster into a gendered crisis,” said Daniel Aldrich, director of Northeastern University’s Resilience Studies Program. The quake has displaced thousands, with over 1,000 homes destroyed, forcing families into open air amid fears of aftershocks. For readers concerned about global stability, this event underscores the need for targeted humanitarian corridors to bypass political hurdles, as limited aid from countries like India (1,000 tents and 15 tons of food) and Iran arrives piecemeal. Without swift international intervention, experts warn of a prolonged recovery, deepening Afghanistan’s humanitarian nightmare and potentially sparking regional refugee flows.
FAQs
Taliban rules require women to be accompanied by a male guardian for travel and medical care, combined with restrictions on female aid workers, leading to prolonged waits amid damaged infrastructure.
At least 255 people were injured in Nangarhar, contributing to a national total exceeding 2,500, with many airlifted to hospitals in Jalalabad.
India sent 1,000 tents and 15 tons of food; Iran, Japan, and the EU committed support; the UN is mobilizing teams, though overall funding remains critically low at 28% of needs.
Sources:
NY Times
The Guardian
NBC News
