KABUL: A senior UN official urged Afghanistan Taliban reverses a ban on female humanitarian workers that charities fear will exacerbate winter hardships.
The authorities on Saturday ordered all domestic and foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) not to let female employees work until further notice. It said the move, which was condemned globally, was justified because some women had disobeyed the Taliban’s interpretation of the Muslim dress code for women.
“Millions of Afghans need humanitarian assistance and the removal of barriers is crucial,” UNAMA said in the statement, adding that its acting head and humanitarian coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov met the minister of economy Mohamad Hanif.
The directives banning women from working in NGOs came from Hanif’s ministry. Orders do not apply directly to United Nationbut many of its programs are carried out by ordered NGOs.
Four major global NGOs, whose humanitarian efforts have reached millions of Afghans, announced that they would suspend operations on Sunday. Other smaller NGOs have also announced suspensions, including UK-based Global Islamic Relief.
NGOs say they cannot run their programs without female staff. According to aid agencies, more than half of the population depends on humanitarian aid. Basic aid becomes more important during the mountainous nation’s harsh winters.
Two spokesman for the Taliban government did not respond to questions from Reuters about the suspension of humanitarian programs.
NGOs are also an important source of employment for tens of thousands of Afghans, especially women, as the local economy has collapsed following the withdrawal of US-led foreign forces. leadership and the subsequent Taliban takeover last year.
One such worker, a 27-year-old female aid worker in western Afghanistan, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, told Reuters her NGO closed its office on Wednesday. Seven and she can’t go to work.
NGO funded by a Western country has been working with women in the agricultural sector, helping them establish a sustainable income.
She said she was worried that losing her job would have a huge impact on her family as she is a single woman and the sole breadwinner in the family.
Her father has passed away and her mother is a housewife, she said, adding that she has to raise four sisters, three of whom are college students who have not been able to complete their degrees since then. The Taliban government banned women from attending university last week.
The authorities on Saturday ordered all domestic and foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) not to let female employees work until further notice. It said the move, which was condemned globally, was justified because some women had disobeyed the Taliban’s interpretation of the Muslim dress code for women.
“Millions of Afghans need humanitarian assistance and the removal of barriers is crucial,” UNAMA said in the statement, adding that its acting head and humanitarian coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov met the minister of economy Mohamad Hanif.
The directives banning women from working in NGOs came from Hanif’s ministry. Orders do not apply directly to United Nationbut many of its programs are carried out by ordered NGOs.
Four major global NGOs, whose humanitarian efforts have reached millions of Afghans, announced that they would suspend operations on Sunday. Other smaller NGOs have also announced suspensions, including UK-based Global Islamic Relief.
NGOs say they cannot run their programs without female staff. According to aid agencies, more than half of the population depends on humanitarian aid. Basic aid becomes more important during the mountainous nation’s harsh winters.
Two spokesman for the Taliban government did not respond to questions from Reuters about the suspension of humanitarian programs.
NGOs are also an important source of employment for tens of thousands of Afghans, especially women, as the local economy has collapsed following the withdrawal of US-led foreign forces. leadership and the subsequent Taliban takeover last year.
One such worker, a 27-year-old female aid worker in western Afghanistan, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, told Reuters her NGO closed its office on Wednesday. Seven and she can’t go to work.
NGO funded by a Western country has been working with women in the agricultural sector, helping them establish a sustainable income.
She said she was worried that losing her job would have a huge impact on her family as she is a single woman and the sole breadwinner in the family.
Her father has passed away and her mother is a housewife, she said, adding that she has to raise four sisters, three of whom are college students who have not been able to complete their degrees since then. The Taliban government banned women from attending university last week.
