When disasters like earthquakes and floods strike, they can exacerbate existing inequalities in society, and this is particularly true in the Afghan context. Disasters and extreme weather events deepen existing gender disparities, as well as present new challenges for women and girls, and making it harder for them to access critical support.

How were Afghan women and girls affected by the Herat earthquakes?

In October 2023, successive earthquakes struck Herat province and devastatingly, an estimated 1,500 people lost their lives. Women living in the most remote areas of Herat province are among the most affected by this worsening disaster: with the UN estimating that 90% of those who lost their lives were women and children. 

Why is Afghanistan prone to earthquakes?

This sobering percentage is not coincidental. Due to the initial earthquake striking in the middle of the day, when most male family members were working rural jobs in neighbouring fields, women were primarily at home doing household chores and caring for their children, which left them more vulnerable when buildings collapsed. 

Not only at greater risk when earthquakes hit, women and girls are now facing increased challenges in the aftermath of the earthquakes. As communities attempt to recover and rebuild, women in the region face huge challenges in accessing adequate sanitation and hygiene facilities, with one assessment finding that when affected communities did have access to latrines, these latrines were overwhelmingly unsafe for women and girls to use. 

The long-term impacts on rural women across the province will also be profound. Primarily engaged in home-based livelihoods such as tailoring, when Afghan women in remote areas lose their homes, they often lose their places of work and sources of income. They also lose their caregiving spaces, where they look after children and babies; elderly family members; and family members with disabilities. Without targeted support for women and girls, the vulnerabilities of all of these at-risk groups become heightened. By prioritising targeted assistance to women and girls, we can better support other marginalised communities in the region.

How are women and girls more impacted by floods?

Since March 2024, almost all provinces in Afghanistan have been hit by deadly flash floods, a result of years of drought drying and baking the land so it is unable to absorb water. No longer 'natural', these floods are a direct result of changing temperatures and the worsening climate crisis. 

Sadly, as is the case with earthquakes, Afghan women's restricted mobility has placed them in far greater danger when floods hit. UN Women's situational report found that women and girls were inside their homes when heavy rain occurred and turned into flooding, whilst men were engaging in public life outside of the home, and thus were able to take shelter in public buildings with more robust infrastructure, such as mosques. With many homes in rural Afghanistan being poorly constructed, this left women and girls at a severely increased risk of injury or death when homes were damaged or destroyed. 

Current restrictions and cultural norms have also meant that many women have been unable to access life-saving disaster preparedness information, impeding their ability to evacuate and find safety. 

Female heads of households face additional challenges

In households without a male family member, it is extremely difficult for Afghan women and girls to receive assistance, as social norms typically dictate that they are unable to receive direct support from male humanitarian workers. Women may also be more at risk of not receiving information on disaster preparedness, due to restrictions on their mobility, and barriers to education may make them less likely to fully absorb information that is presented to them. 

To compound this, female heads-of-households and widows are particularly vulnerable to socio-economic exclusion in Afghanistan. More likely to experience poverty and food insecurity, this discrimination decreases their chances of having social safety nets or community networks to rely on when disasters strike, and in turn weaken their ability to rebuild their lives. 

What assistance is needed most?

Our teams on the ground have been speaking and working with affected communities, and conducting rigorous assessments to ensure we fully cater to the needs of the most remote, vulnerable communities at this critical time.

When disasters hit, its effect on each family can vary hugely, and so it is imperative that humanitarian responses are fluid, to enable each household to prioritise the support that is most beneficial to them. Through providing cash assistance, we can ensure this flexibility, whilst also safeguarding the dignity and autonomy of each family, and strengthening their ability to play an active role in shaping their own futures. 

By supporting our earthquake appeal, you can help us continue to distribute emergency cash to Herat province’s most vulnerable women, who can then buy the necessities they need, keep roofs over their heads and ensure they can start to rebuild for their families: