The Taliban government of Afghanistan ordered this weekend to non-governmental organizations stop employing women because, according to what he said, they do not respect the dress code, the same argument for which he excluded them from the country’s universities a few days ago.
“There have been serious complaints about the non-compliance with the use of the Islamic hijab and other rules and regulations related to women’s work in national and international organizations,” said a notification sent to all NGOs.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Economy confirmed that the portfolio sent the order. “In case of non-compliance with the directive (…) the license of the organization that was issued by this ministry will be cancelled,” the notification specifies.
Dozens of national and international NGOs work in multiple sectors in remote areas of Afghanistan, and many of their staff are women.
According to the UN and cooperation agencies, more than half of the country’s 38 million inhabitants will need humanitarian aid during the harsh winter, so the measure promises to have a significant effect on the country.
Several foreign NGOs announced this Sunday that they were suspending their activities in Afghanistan after the Taliban banned women from working in these types of organizations, a measure that will make it “very difficult” to maintain humanitarian aid in the country, warned a senior UN official.
(Also read: The UN condemns a year of “shameful” closure of schools in Afghanistan)
Pending “clarification” on that decision, “we suspend our programs and demand that men and women be able to continue” on equal terms “with our help to save lives in Afghanistan,” Save the Children, the Norwegian Council, said in a statement. for Refugees and CARE International.
Another NGO, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) also announced shortly after that it was suspending its activities in the country.
“If we are not authorized to employ women, we are not able to provide services to those who need it,” he said.
“If (the authorities) are not in a position to revoke this decision (…), it will be very difficult to continue and provide humanitarian aid in an independent and fair manner, because the participation of women is very important,” the coordinator told AFP. UN humanitarian for Afghanistan, Ramiz Alakbarov.
(Also: Taliban force all women to cover their bodies from head to toe)
The international reaction
Karen Decker, the US representative in Afghanistan, called the fundamentalist government to account.
“As a representative of the largest aid donor” to this country “I believe I have the right to ask the Taliban how they intend to prevent women and children from starving, if women can no longer distribute aid to other women and children,” he tweeted. Sunday in several languages.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he was “deeply concerned that the Taliban’s ban on women delivering humanitarian aid in Afghanistan will cut off vital assistance for millions” of people. “This decision could be devastating for the Afghan people,” he tweeted.
How do they intend to prevent women and children from starving, if women can no longer distribute aid to other women?
Brussels also condemned the new guideline: “The European Union strongly condemns the Taliban’s recent decision to ban women from working in national and international NGOs,” a spokeswoman for the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell said in a statement sent to the AFP.
(You can read: Hanging protesters: Iran’s new repressive strategy against protests)
“We are weighing the situation and the impact it will have on our aid on the ground,” he added.
For his part, the spokesman for the Taliban, Zabihulah Mujahid, responded on Twitter: “We do not allow anyone to say anything or make threats regarding the decisions of our leaders on humanitarian aid.”
In recent months, the Taliban, which returned to power in August 2021, have tightened the siege on women.
Less than a week ago they were banned from access to universities in the country and since March, they could not go to secondary schools either.
(You may be interested in: ‘I drugged my hungry children to help them sleep’)
They are also excluded from numerous public jobs, cannot travel alone, and are barred from parks, gardens, gyms, and public toilets.
“This latest flagrant rollback of the rights of girls and women will have far-reaching consequences for the delivery of health, nutrition and education services to children,” UNICEF regional director George Laryea-Adjei tweeted on Sunday.
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
*With information from AFP
#Taliban #ban #women #working #NGOs #Afghanistan