BBC: Taliban prevent women from working at the United Nations and threaten to continue relief operations in Afghanistan

The Afghan Taliban has issued an order preventing Afghan women from working for the group, the UN organization said, noting that the Afghan movement has informed the organization orally of the decision and has not sent any written letter to date.

The UN has asked its Afghan staff – men and women – not to come to work for 48 hours, until it becomes clear what is going on in the meetings with the Taliban.

Taliban repression

According to the BBC, the Taliban’s decision comes amid a growing crackdown on women’s freedoms that has increased sharply since they seized control of Afghanistan in August 2021.

“This is the latest in a disturbing trend undermining the ability of aid organizations to reach those most in need,” a UN spokesman said, adding that the organization “cannot operate and deliver life-saving assistance without female staff,” calling the Taliban’s decisions “unacceptable and unthinkable.”

Female staff play a vital role in aid operations on the ground, particularly in identifying other women in need, as the UN works to deliver humanitarian assistance to 23 million people in Afghanistan, which is suffering from a severe economic and humanitarian crisis, BBC added.

“Foreign workers are excluded from the ban, but if implemented, it will be the most important test of the future of UN operations in Afghanistan, and the relationship between the organization and the Taliban government.”

The United Nations said: Local Taliban authorities in the eastern Nangarhar province prevented Afghan women from going to work at UN facilities on Tuesday. In response, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres tweeted, “I strongly condemn the prevention of our Afghan colleagues from working in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan. If this action is not reversed, it will inevitably undermine our ability to provide life-saving assistance to people in need.”

The BBC stressed that if the resolution went through, the UN would not be exempt from the ban on women working in all NGOs – except health care workers – implemented in December, amid expectations that health workers will still be allowed to work, but only if they report directly to health facilities, not offices.