India, Sept. 7 -- "No one offered the women help, asked what they needed or even approached them," said Aysha, a 19-year-old from Afghanistan's Kunar Province, describing how she and others were treated in the aftermath of deadly earthquake last week.

"Some of them bleeding, were pushed aside," she added, recounting how women and girls trapped under rubble were ignored for hours as rescuers refused to touch them.

These searing testimonies from survivors highlight how Taliban-imposed rules - banning men from making physical contact with unrelated women - turned a natural disaster into a deeper tragedy for women.

Aysha's words echo what many Afghan women faced: neglect, isolation, and a lack of medical care. With no female rescue workers...