![Mr Gul's family sits in their living room, a photo of the children's mother on top of the shelf. She was killed in the attack on a Kabul maternity ward that hasn't been claimed by any militant group. Stefanie Glinski for The National](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/6PIXEH4DE4WD4JKIOPUBB5GHGM.jpg?smart=true&auth=a31cfa1746e1a74cc89ea3e2735419ea4f048bdea0585f190c5a89508932db70&width=400&height=225)
![Mr Reza's family, including one of his brothers, stand in the family's compound. Stefanie Glinski for The National](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/YL42FMX62PZVXSQ5AZVCJ4POPY.jpg?smart=true&auth=a822bf1c727c9d9bd7819ce5174f2159e95e5381cc118bf428f8c9d30df307f2&width=400&height=225)
![Ahmed Reza, 34, holds his son Abbas at his home in the western outskirts of Kabul, a place of relative calm and safety. His wife Rokaia has been brutally killed in the attack on the maternity ward in Dasht-e-Barchi. Stefanie Glinski for The National](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/CQDTZKJ2UE6BAVOFY4VULRA4AA.jpg?smart=true&auth=e80a879e8e683ed16289bb1725f7c3475bfeed885ed58528ec617cdfff76c26e&width=400&height=225)
![Ahmed Reza, 34, holds his son Abbas at his home in the western outskirts of Kabul, a place of relative calm and safety. His wife Rokaia has been brutally killed in the attack on the maternity ward in Dasht-e-Barchi. Stefanie Glinski for The National](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/QT2634WOUFIBQL7DIBI6RZDGQU.jpg?smart=true&auth=1a56d557cc2e82b01458ef8a6ed4f8312792cf5af8ad37d0714e9aa766a578da&width=400&height=225)
![Fatima, 9 and her two-year-old sister Fereshta in their home in western Kabul. Their mother Rokaia was brutally killed in the attack on the Dasht-e-Barchi maternity ward. Stefanie Glinski for The National](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/NG63J3YPGWMCV24V23YTKBYX4Q.jpg?smart=true&auth=1d4d3e9d12eb7caf5fe17005efc1e389e5d34b373c7ac0646f3b8d037c40b001&width=400&height=225)
![Mr Reza is not sure how to explain the attack to his two-year-old daughter Fereshta.
“At night, she screams and cries, calling for her mother,” he admitted. “I don’t know what to do. We tell her mum is still at the hospital, and I even make pretend phone calls to my wife to calm Fereshta down." Stefanie Glinski for The National](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/VWOEO4URPN2OXBDKA2K3N3BGDU.jpg?smart=true&auth=ce9afb124f1297d2007d057269a87d69c0a103ca1e2f7ac5e2584fc0677cc934&width=400&height=225)
![Agha Gul, a 35-year-old father holds his newborn daughter Zahra. Now I am both your father and your mother," he told her. Stefanie Glinski for The National](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/HC2VEAR5NIDCLL5XZHTF7RDVJE.jpg?smart=true&auth=68b3b268dab16b768dd3b78928cdd13a6085546f82aead26c2e0cdd8ae9364d9&width=400&height=225)
![Mr Gul's family sits in their living room, a photo of the children's mother on top of the shelf. She was killed in the attack on a Kabul aternity ward that hasn't been claimed by any militant group. Stefanie Glinski for The National](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/GOH3U775MJZ64IWHDI4GATRG4I.jpg?smart=true&auth=100c63380c09611eb5e4bea08b1e8c8206f7cfbde4205387ff38f70136687132&width=400&height=225)
![Mr Gul's family sits in their living room, a photo of the children's mother on top of the shelf. She was killed in the attack on a Kabul maternity ward that hasn't been claimed by any militant group. Stefanie Glinski for The National](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/6PIXEH4DE4WD4JKIOPUBB5GHGM.jpg?smart=true&auth=a31cfa1746e1a74cc89ea3e2735419ea4f048bdea0585f190c5a89508932db70&width=400&height=225)
![Mr Reza's family, including one of his brothers, stand in the family's compound. Stefanie Glinski for The National](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/YL42FMX62PZVXSQ5AZVCJ4POPY.jpg?smart=true&auth=a822bf1c727c9d9bd7819ce5174f2159e95e5381cc118bf428f8c9d30df307f2&width=400&height=225)
![Ahmed Reza, 34, holds his son Abbas at his home in the western outskirts of Kabul, a place of relative calm and safety. His wife Rokaia has been brutally killed in the attack on the maternity ward in Dasht-e-Barchi. Stefanie Glinski for The National](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/CQDTZKJ2UE6BAVOFY4VULRA4AA.jpg?smart=true&auth=e80a879e8e683ed16289bb1725f7c3475bfeed885ed58528ec617cdfff76c26e&width=400&height=225)
![Ahmed Reza, 34, holds his son Abbas at his home in the western outskirts of Kabul, a place of relative calm and safety. His wife Rokaia has been brutally killed in the attack on the maternity ward in Dasht-e-Barchi. Stefanie Glinski for The National](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/QT2634WOUFIBQL7DIBI6RZDGQU.jpg?smart=true&auth=1a56d557cc2e82b01458ef8a6ed4f8312792cf5af8ad37d0714e9aa766a578da&width=400&height=225)
![Fatima, 9 and her two-year-old sister Fereshta in their home in western Kabul. Their mother Rokaia was brutally killed in the attack on the Dasht-e-Barchi maternity ward. Stefanie Glinski for The National](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/NG63J3YPGWMCV24V23YTKBYX4Q.jpg?smart=true&auth=1d4d3e9d12eb7caf5fe17005efc1e389e5d34b373c7ac0646f3b8d037c40b001&width=400&height=225)
![Mr Reza is not sure how to explain the attack to his two-year-old daughter Fereshta.
“At night, she screams and cries, calling for her mother,” he admitted. “I don’t know what to do. We tell her mum is still at the hospital, and I even make pretend phone calls to my wife to calm Fereshta down." Stefanie Glinski for The National](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/VWOEO4URPN2OXBDKA2K3N3BGDU.jpg?smart=true&auth=ce9afb124f1297d2007d057269a87d69c0a103ca1e2f7ac5e2584fc0677cc934&width=400&height=225)
![Agha Gul, a 35-year-old father holds his newborn daughter Zahra. Now I am both your father and your mother," he told her. Stefanie Glinski for The National](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/HC2VEAR5NIDCLL5XZHTF7RDVJE.jpg?smart=true&auth=68b3b268dab16b768dd3b78928cdd13a6085546f82aead26c2e0cdd8ae9364d9&width=400&height=225)
![Mr Gul's family sits in their living room, a photo of the children's mother on top of the shelf. She was killed in the attack on a Kabul aternity ward that hasn't been claimed by any militant group. Stefanie Glinski for The National](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/GOH3U775MJZ64IWHDI4GATRG4I.jpg?smart=true&auth=100c63380c09611eb5e4bea08b1e8c8206f7cfbde4205387ff38f70136687132&width=400&height=225)
![Mr Gul's family sits in their living room, a photo of the children's mother on top of the shelf. She was killed in the attack on a Kabul maternity ward that hasn't been claimed by any militant group. Stefanie Glinski for The National](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/6PIXEH4DE4WD4JKIOPUBB5GHGM.jpg?smart=true&auth=a31cfa1746e1a74cc89ea3e2735419ea4f048bdea0585f190c5a89508932db70&width=400&height=225)
‘I am both your father and your mother’, Afghan husbands mourn wives killed in maternity clinic attack
Families devastated by the sudden loss tell Stefanie Glinski about life in the aftermath of the brutal attack that killed 24, including newborns and mothers who had just given birth
Stefanie Glinski
May 22, 2020
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