The Taliban issued an order banning Afghan women employed by the UN, hitherto exempt from these restrictions, from working anywhere in Afghanistan, the organization’s spokesman said Tuesday, denouncing a decision that was “unacceptable and frankly inconceivable.”
“We have been informed by different channels that the ban applies to the entire country,” said Stéphane Dujarric, quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Initially, the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) had announced that the Taliban had banned its employees from working in the eastern province of Nangarhar.
Dujarric said that the decision is for the entire territory and that the UN continues to seek more information.
Meetings are scheduled for Wednesday in Kabul with the country’s “de facto rulers” to try to clarify the details, while evaluating their possible impact, he added.
“To the Secretary General [António Guterres] such a prohibition is unacceptable and frankly inconceivable”, he pointed out, denouncing the will to “undermine the capacities of humanitarian organizations to help those most in need”.
The spokeswoman for the Secretary General of the United Nations made it clear that without women, the United Nations will not be able to continue helping the country’s population as it has done.
“The women on our staff are essential for the United Nations to provide vital assistance,” the spokeswoman stressed during her daily press conference.
Dujarric stressed that this veto not only violates “the fundamental rights of women” but also makes it difficult for the organization to continue its work on the ground.
Among other things, he recalled that “given the society and culture” in Afghanistan “women are needed to help women”, who are among the most threatened by the enormous humanitarian crisis in the country, alluding to the fact that in many regions is not as men serve women, or vice versa.
According to Dujarric, the ban is “unacceptable” and contributes to a “worrisome trend of undermining the ability of aid organizations to reach those most in need.”
According to UN data, between 30 and 40% of the staff of humanitarian organizations that deliver, manage, control or assess the need for assistance are women.
Dujarric added that the organization currently has some 4,000 people working in Afghanistan, of whom some 3,300 are natives of the country, although he did not reveal how many are women.
The day after the ban, several NGOs announced the suspension of their activities, before resuming them in mid-January with the support of their employees in some sectors that benefit from exemptions, such as health and nutrition.
The education of women or girls is a sensitive issue in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover in August 2021.
The Taliban prevent women from participating in the public life of the country, and many Afghan women lose their jobs in the public sector.
Since November last year, Afghan women have also been barred from parks, gyms and public toilets.
Afghan women are not allowed to travel without being accompanied by a male relative and must be covered at all times when they leave the house.
Source: TSF
