3 NGOs suspend work in Afghanistan after Taliban bar women
The Hindu
The U.S. has condemned the Taliban for ordering non-governmental groups in Afghanistan to stop employing women.
Foreign aid groups on Sunday suspended their operations in Afghanistan following a decision by the country's Taliban rulers to ban women from working at international and local non-governmental organisations.
Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council and CARE, said they cannot effectively reach children, women and men in desperate need in Afghanistan without the women on their workforces. The NGO ban was introduced a day earlier, allegedly because women weren’t wearing the Islamic headscarf correctly.
“We have complied with all cultural norms and we simply can’t work without our dedicated female staff, who are essential for us to access women who are in desperate need of assistance,” Neil Turner, the The Norwegian Refugee Council’s chief for Afghanistan, told The Associated Press on Sunday. He said the group has 468 female staff in the country.
The developments came in response to the Taliban’s latest edict that curtails the rights and freedoms of women since they seized power last year.
The U.S. has condemned the Taliban for ordering non-governmental groups in Afghanistan to stop employing women, saying the ban will disrupt vital and life-saving assistance to millions.
The Taliban takeover last year sent Afghanistan’s economy into a tailspin and transformed the country, driving millions into poverty and hunger. Foreign aid stopped almost overnight.
Sanctions on Taliban rulers, a halt on bank transfers and frozen billions in Afghanistan’s currency reserves have already restricted access to global institutions and the outside money that supported the country’s aid-dependent economy before the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces.