
A senior United Nations official in Afghanistan met with the deputy prime minister of the acting government in Kabul on Sunday. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss a ban on women working for NGOs.
The Decision mandated that all the country’s international and domestic non-governmental organizations stopped employing women and stated that they did not follow the Islamic Hijab. This came after banning girls’ students from attending middle and high school, then universities, and working in most professions.
This has resulted in the Suspension of operations in the country by major international assistance organizations. Concerns have been made regarding the possibility that people may be deprived of food, education, healthcare, and other essential services due to the embargo. According to UN officials, more than half of the population in Afghanistan is in immediate need of humanitarian assistance.
While growing international concern over the current regime’s restrictions on women’s rights in Afghanistan, Markus Potzel is the most recent representative from the United Nations to meet with Taliban officials.
According to the statement made by the United Nations mission in Afghanistan, “preventing the delivery of essential aid to Afghan men, women, and children by prohibiting women from working in non-governmental organizations and denying girls and women access to education and training harms millions of people in Afghanistan.”
Meanwhile, the UN survey recently showed that approximately one-third of the NGOs in Afghanistan are led by women and have been forced to stop all their activities. In contrast, another third have been forced to stop 70% of their operations due to the ban.
The Suspension of the UN operation will add to the existing chaos since last August. Since then, the economy of Afghanistan has been severely damaged due to international sanctions and asset freezes. Before the acting government’s takeover, the country’s aid-dependent economy was supported by a donation from the international assistance organization, which was cut off due to the regime change.