More than 100,000 people have been displaced by the latest cross-border air strikes, shelling, drone attacks, and ground clashes in eastern Afghanistan, following the escalation of renewed hostilities along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

Women and girls – who are already living under increasing restrictions on their freedoms and movement under the Taliban – and those struggling to survive the aftermath of last year’s earthquake in eastern Afghanistan have been hit hardest by the increased insecurity. An estimated 50,000 people in the affected areas are at increased risk of gender-based violence. And women have further reduced access to health and essential services. For pregnant women, the risks are even higher, as many face hunger and limited healthcare.

For Najeeba and her family, the journey was expensive, forcing them to sell already scarce resources – precious blankets, flour, and cooking oil – just to pay for the trip to the new camp in the Maza Dara Valley.

About 40 minutes away, along a steep dirt road in the mountains, another new mother reflected on the impact of the ongoing hostilities along the border.

Seventeen-year-old Fahima* had given birth to her son just before the latest escalation began in late February.

When the fighting started, her three other children, aged five and under, were terrified by the sound of aircraft and missiles. She and her husband – who had also been living in a camp with families displaced by the earthquake – decided to leave, selling flour and borrowing money to pay for transport.

Less than a year ago, they were farmers, growing sorghum, wheat, and kidney beans to feed their family or sell for income.

Now, forced to move for the second time in six months, they are running out of food.

“Our land was destroyed [in the earthquake] and there is no work here”, Fahima said. “We give more food to our children and eat less ourselves.”

More than two-thirds of women in ten impacted provinces have lost income, according to the Afghanistan Gender Coordination Group. Three-quarters report finding it harder to find food and more than four-in-ten report greater difficulty accessing healthcare. Women are also more likely to experience psychological distress.

With funding from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and through a local partner, UN Women has been supporting women-only safe spaces in camps for families displaced by the earthquake. Counsellors provide much-needed mental health support, while the spaces also offer a rare opportunity for women to connect with each other in privacy, despite the crowded camp conditions.

Two of the four safe spaces have now been relocated due to the conflict.

Each tent is run by a team of two, a manager and a counsellor, who provide support to women during the day, and cook and sleep in the same space at night. Many have toddlers with them, and return home to their older children, one day a week.

“We stay together and eat together – we are like a mother and daughter”, said Zaland,* 25, a counsellor who moved to a new location with her colleague after the hostilities escalated.

Inside their newly re-erected safe space, bright balloons hang from the roof and multicoloured cardboard signs carry messages of mental health support along the walls.

“Some of the women have suffered a great deal”, added Zaland. “Some have lost family members, some have lost their homes, some have lost livestock, and some have hungry children.”

After counselling, she says, some women leave to collect wild plants to eat.

Her colleague, Mastoora,* 36, explains the impact of their work.

“The happiness I feel comes from knowing that, even if I cannot do much for a woman, I can at least say something that helps her”, she said.

“When I go home, I explain [to my daughters] that I am working for women – they are happy when they see their mother going somewhere to serve other women.”

For 17-year-old Fahima, the service helps her cope better, despite the daily struggle she faces to feed her four children.

“When we come [for counselling], we feel relieved and our mood improves”, she says.

“We would not come if they were male counsellors; the female counsellors are like our sisters, and we can speak openly with them.”

As families continue to endure double displacement following the 2025 earthquake, and now the on-going hostilities, women and girls are affected distinctly and immensely.

Sustained support is essential to ensure that women’s civil society organizations can maintain vital women-only safe spaces and other community-based services, providing protection, mental health support, and dignity for those most at risk.