The ban was imposed after the administration said some women had not adhered to the Islamic dress code
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)Four international aid agencies including Save the Children are suspending humanitarian programmes in Afghanistan following the Taliban’s ban on female workers.
The administration on Saturday ordered all local and foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) not to let female staff work until further notice.
It said the move, which was condemned globally, was justified because some women had not adhered to the Taliban’s interpretation of Islamic dress code for women.
Three NGOs - Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council and CARE International - said in a joint statement on Christmas Day that they were suspending their programmes as they awaited clarity on the order.
“We cannot effectively reach children, women and men in desperate need in Afghanistan without our female staff,” the statement said, adding that, without women driving the effort, they would not have reached millions of Afghans in need since August last year.
Separately, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) said in a statement that it was suspending its services in the country, citing similar reasons. IRC said it employs more than 8,000 people in Afghanistan, over 3,000 of whom are women.
The suspension of some aid programmes that millions of Afghans access comes at a time when more than half the population relies on humanitarian aid, according to aid agencies, and during the mountainous nation’s coldest season.
A spokesman for the Taliban administration, Zabihullah Mujahid, hit back at the criticism, saying all institutions wanting to operate in Afghanistan are obliged to comply with the rules of the country.
But EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell strongly condemned the order, saying it amounts to erasing women from public spaces.
Mr Borrell said he was appalled by the latest decision, which follows last week’s ban on women attending university, and a violent crackdown against peaceful protests by women against that move.
He urged the Taliban to lift their decision immediately, as part of their obligation to respect international humanitarian law and humanitarian principles.
“Together with other providers of assistance to the people of Afghanistan, the EU will have to consider what consequences this decision, and the recent decision by the Taliban to close universities for women, will have on their engagement with our countries and organisations,” Mr Borrell said in a statement.
Meanwhile Qatar expressed “extreme concern” over the order, calling on the administration to review its decision.
The ministry “stresses the need to respect women’s right to work, given that the freedom to choose and accept work is a human right”, it said.
Qatar hosted a representative office for the Taliban during the US-led war in Afghanistan, and served as a venue for peace talks before the group took power in 2021.
