Afghanistan: UN calls on Taliban to reverse ban on female NGO employees

Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers faced widespread backlash over their recent decrees that further restricted women and girls. The United Nations has called on the insurgent group to reverse its latest policy ordering non-government organizations to bar their female employees from returning to work.

The UN mission to Afghanistan issued a statement on Monday calling on the Taliban administration to reverse the ban on female NGO employees. The statement added that UNAMA acting head and humanitarian coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov met with the economy minister Mohammad Hanif, stressing the importance of delivering aid to millions of Afghans.

This follows the economy ministry’s order on Saturday ordering all local and foreign NGOs to bar female employees until further notice. While the UN is not affected by the order, many of the UN programs are carried out by organizations that are affected by the decree.

In response to the ban, three foreign NGOs – Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council, and CARE International issued a joint statement on Sunday that they were suspending their operations as they wait for clarification on the order.

“We cannot effectively reach children, women, and men in desperate need in Afghanistan without our female staff,” said the groups in a statement, adding that without the women leading the efforts, they would not be able to reach millions of Afghans in need since the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in August last year.

The International Rescue Committee also said in a statement saying that it was suspending its operations in Afghanistan, citing similar reasons as the three other NGOs. The IRC noted that it has employed over 8,000 people in Afghanistan, and nearly 3,000 of its employees are women.

The ban on female NGO employees follows the ban by the insurgent group on women from attending universities, which resulted in widespread condemnation even from predominantly Muslim countries. The United States warned that it could impose costs on the Taliban if it does not reverse its decree to allow women to attend university.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that the Taliban administration would not be able to improve relations with the international community should it continue to deny Afghan women their fundamental rights.