Afghan earthquake triggers contradictory Taliban tactics on rescuing women

toggle caption Wakil Kohsar/AFP/via Getty Images

As earthquakes devastated parts of Afghanistan in late August , Taliban officials asked aid agencies to send more female health workers to assist female survivors. They also briefly barred female U.N. staffers from reaching earthquake-devastated areas.

The flurry of contradictions in the wake of the earthquake did not end there.

Amid the aftermath, as aid groups and Taliban bureaucrats were assisting those injured and left homeless by the earthquake, other Taliban officials twice suspended most internet and cellular reception throughout Afghanistan, complicating aid efforts.

The incidents highlight the contortions of the Taliban four years after seizing power of Afghanistan.

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Hardliners are firmly in control, but more pragmatic factions appear to be constantly trying to find workarounds to govern — like urging female aid workers to head to earthquake-struck zones.

"It's an ongoing struggle," said a senior analyst, who requested anonymity because the Taliban has cracked down on people perceived as critical of them.

(That individual, like more than a dozen people that NPR spoke to for this story, including senior representatives of international charities, local residents and respected analysts, asked that NPR not use their names. Others requested we only use their first names. Some of the people were worried their organizations would be punished if they were even perceived as being critical of the Taliban or were concerned about denials of visas for foreign staff or losing the right to continue operations.)

That to-and-fro could be seen i