UN calls on Taliban to suspend ban on female aid workers
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has called on the Taliban to reverse a decision to ban female humanitarian workers as millions of people are in need of humanitarian assistance in harsh winter conditions.
On Sunday, the Taliban ordered all local and foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) not to let women work until further notice.
"Millions of Afghans need humanitarian assistance and removing barriers is vital," UNAMA said.
The mission said its acting head and humanitarian coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov had met with Afghanistan’s Economy Minister Mohammad Hanif, whose ministry had issued the ban.
In a letter sent by the ministry to all licensed NGOs on Saturday, the Taliban administration obliged the organizations to bar their female employees from coming to work, citing some female employees’ failure to observe the administration’s dress code for women.
The United Nations says there needs to be a meeting with the Taliban to seek clarity over the matter.
In the wake of the order, four major global NGOs have already announced they were suspending operations on Sunday.
Other smaller NGOs have also announced suspensions, including the United Kingdom-based Islamic Relief Worldwide.
The NGOs, whose humanitarian efforts have reached millions of Afghans, said they are unable to run their programs without their female staff.
In Afghanistan, more than half the population relies on humanitarian assistance, according to aid agencies.
NGOs are a critical source of employment for tens of thousands of Afghans, not least women, due in large part to the collapse of local economy after the Taliban takeover last year, which was a result of a messy US troop pullout. Washington’s sanctions and freeze on Afghan assets have generated one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes in the country.
The ban on female staff in NGOs followed a similar one by the Taliban on Tuesday to prohibit university education for women despite international outcry.
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