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Rabat – Recent bans on education and work for women in Afghanistan, imposed by the ruling Taliban, have drawn condemnation from other states, international organizations, and NGOs.
The United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) called for a reversal of the ban on women working with NGO and INGO humanitarian missions.
“The effective delivery of humanitarian assistance requires full, safe and unhindered access for all aid workers, including women,” UNAMA said in a statement. “The reported ban on women working with the international community to save lives and livelihoods in Afghanistan will cause further untold hardship on the people of Afghanistan.”
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Economy ordered all NGOs operating in the country on Sunday to not let any female staff work with them until further notice.
Global NGOs Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council, and Care International said in a joint statement that they are suspending their operations in the country.
“We cannot effectively reach children, women and men in desperate need in Afghanistan without our female staff,” the statement said, calling on authorities to grant women the right to take part in humanitarian work.
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) also responded by announcing the suspension of all its programmes in Afghanistan, ending over three decades of work in the country.
The ban came shortly after a similar suspension of women from universities across the country.
A letter sent out by the Ministry of Higher Education on Tuesday instructed all universities to suspend access for female students until further notice.
That decision received similar criticism from international organizations operating in the country. “The UN and its humanitarian partners also urge the de facto authorities to reopen girls’ schools beyond the sixth grade and end all measures preventing women and girls from participating fully in daily public life,” UNAMA said.
