Mainstream WeeklyThe recent earthquake in Afghanistan was merciless. A 6.6-magnitude tremor, followed by powerful aftershocks, reduced villages to rubble, killing at least 2,200 people and injuring more than 3,600. Yet while the seismic waves destroyed homes, it is centuries-old customs and rigid gender restrictions that have deepened the tragedy. Women, already the most oppressed under Taliban rule, were left among the last to be rescued-or not rescued at all-as Taliban rules barred unrelated men from pulling them out of the debris, The Telegraph reported.
In the villages of eastern Afghanistan, survivors describe a chilling reality. Men and children were promptly pulled out of the debris, but women and adolescent girls were pushed aside, bleeding and neglected.