KABUL —
Afghanistan's Taliban rulers ordered all national and international NGOs to
stop their women employees from working after "serious complaints"
about their dress code, the economy ministry said on Saturday.
اضافة اعلان
The order threatened
to suspend the operating licenses of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that
failed to implement the directive.
The move drew swift
international condemnation, with governments and organizations warning of the
impact on humanitarian services in a country where millions rely on aid.
The latest restriction
comes less than a week after the
Taliban authorities banned women from
attending universities, prompting global outrage and protests in some Afghan
cities.
While the Taliban had
promised a softer form of rule when they returned to power in August last year,
they have instead imposed harsh restrictions on women — effectively squeezing
them out of public life.
The notification sent
to
NGOs, a copy of which was obtained by AFP and confirmed by an economy
ministry spokesman, cited "serious complaints regarding the non-observance
of the Islamic hijab and other rules and regulations pertaining to the work of females
in national and international organizations".
The ministry
"instructs all organizations to stop females working until further
notice," the notification said, warning that if a group ignores the order,
its license "will be cancelled".
The ministry "instructs all organizations to stop females working until further notice," the notification said, warning that if a group ignores the order, its license "will be cancelled".
It remained unclear whether
the directive impacted foreign women staff at NGOs. Two international NGOs
confirmed they had received the notification.
"We are
suspending all our activities from Sunday," a top official at an
international NGO involved in humanitarian work told AFP on condition of
anonymity. "We will soon have a meeting of top officials of all NGOs to
decide how to handle this issue."
'Devastating'
decisionDozens of
organizations work across remote areas of Afghanistan and many of their
employees are women, with several warning a ban on women staff would stymie
their work.
The International
Rescue Committee said in a statement its more than 3,000 women staff in
Afghanistan were "critical for the delivery of humanitarian
assistance" in the country.
An official at an
international NGO involved in food distribution said the ban was a "big
blow".
"We have women
staff largely to address humanitarian aid concerns of Afghan women," the
official said. "How do we address their concerns now?"
US Secretary of State
Antony Blinken said women were "central to humanitarian operations around
the world" and that the ban would be "devastating" to Afghans as
it would "disrupt vital and life-saving assistance to millions".
The order also
threatens key livelihoods of women NGO staff, a woman working for an Afghan
organization told AFP.
"What will those
women who have no men to support their families and are working in such NGOs
do?" she said, asking not to reveal her name. "It's only that salary
that had prevented us from falling into poverty."
"We have women staff largely to address humanitarian aid concerns of Afghan women," the official said. "How do we address their concerns now?"
The order was a
"clear breach of humanitarian principles", said Ramiz Alakbarov, the
UN chief's deputy special representative for Afghanistan.
The European Union — a
major funder of aid organizations working in Afghanistan — condemned the
decision and said it was assessing "the impact it will have on our aid on
the ground", Nabila Massrali, the EU foreign policy chief's spokeswoman,
told AFP.
Rights group Amnesty
International tweeted the ban was a "deplorable attempt to erase women
from the political, social, and economic spaces" in Afghanistan.
Mounting
restrictionsThe order is the
latest assault on women's rights in the country, an issue the international
community has made a sticking point in negotiations over aid and recognition of
the Taliban regime.
On Tuesday, the
authorities banned all women from
attending universities, triggering widespread
censure.
The Group of Seven
industrialized democracies said the prohibition may amount to "a crime
against humanity".
In response to the
order, around 400 male students on Saturday boycotted an exam in the southern
city of Kandahar — the de facto power center of the Taliban — a rare protest
staged by men, which was dispersed by members of the hardline Islamist group.
The Taliban had
already barred teenage girls from secondary school, and women have been pushed
out of many government jobs, prevented from travelling without a male relative,
and ordered to cover up outside of the home, ideally with a burqa.
They are also not
allowed to enter parks or gardens.
The Taliban have also
resumed public floggings of men and women in recent weeks, widening their
implementation of an extreme interpretation of Islamic law.
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