In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
With hearts heavy with grief and eyes filled with tears, the Afghan Women’s Justice Movement extends its deepest condolences on the tragic earthquake that struck on the night of Sunday, 9th of Sunbula (August 31, 2025), shaking the provinces of Kunar, Nangarhar, and the surrounding regions with unimaginable devastation. We mourn alongside the bereaved mothers, vulnerable daughters, and the entire suffering population of Afghanistan.
At 11:17 PM, a 6.0-magnitude earthquake, at a depth of 35 km, struck 25 km from Asadabad, Kunar, swallowing entire villages and rendering hundreds of families homeless in the blink of an eye. According to initial reports, over 1,400 lives have been lost, and more than 2,700 others are injured and in desperate need of assistance—numbers that continue to rise as the cries of women and children trapped beneath the rubble still echo through the mountains.
Thousands now endure the freezing mountain nights without shelter, while terrifying aftershocks rob children of sleep. Treacherous mountain roads have become barriers to aid, and many of the wounded are transported to health centers only by helicopters that appear once a day—if at all. Amid this chaos, the severe shortage of female doctors and nurses has left injured women and girls in an even more desperate state. A woman in labor, a girl holding her father’s shattered head, a mother clutching the lifeless body of her child—all are waiting for a miracle that, under gender-based restrictions, has yet to arrive.
The Afghan Women’s Justice Movement regards this tragedy not only as a natural disaster but as a humanitarian catastrophe of compounded suffering, one that places Afghan women and girls at double the risk of silent death. We offer our deepest sympathy to the grieving families, to the mothers who no longer have their crying child in their arms, and to the daughters forced to grow up overnight. We stand in profound solidarity with all the injured and displaced.
We call upon all international humanitarian organizations, neighboring countries, and every individual who still believes in humanity to ensure immediate, unrestricted, and gender-sensitive access to the affected areas—without political or cultural barriers. We demand:
- Search and rescue teams with at least 50% female members
- Helicopters prioritizing pregnant women for evacuation
- Women’s hygiene kits, safe blood supplies, maternal medicines, and shelters that protect women’s privacy
This disaster once again proves that Afghanistan, situated on the earthquake belt, remains trapped in an era of unsafe infrastructure and unscientific crisis management. We insist that the dignity of all victims—women and men alike—must be preserved at every stage. Bodies must be identified and returned to families with full respect, so that a grieving mother does not suffer her sorrow in isolation.
Finally, we extend our hand to every survivor and proclaim in a loud, unwavering voice:
Afghan women are not alone in these dark nights; we are the echo of their cries beneath the rubble of stone and injustice, and we believe in a life of dignity.
In the spirit of national solidarity, we announce:
Any organization, community, or individual wishing to send direct, transparent financial assistance to women and girls affected by the earthquake can contribute today via the official donation page of the Afghan Women’s Justice Movement: https:https://af-wjm.org/donations/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
All funds will be used exclusively to provide women’s hygiene kits, maternal medicines, temporary women-only shelters, and the deployment of female medical teams to affected villages in Kunar and Nangarhar. Expenditures will be reported publicly and in detail.
“Indeed, we belong to God, and to Him we shall return.”
Afghan Women’s Justice Movement
