KABUL (AP) – Major aid agencies have warned that Afghans will die because of the Taliban order banning women from working at nongovernmental groups, and stressed that female staff are crucial for the delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance across war-battered Afghanistan.
The dire prediction came after the Economy Ministry last week said women can no longer work at international or domestic NGOs, allegedly because they are not wearing the headscarf, or hijab, correctly at their workplace.
The order was the latest blow to women’s rights and freedoms since the Taliban took power in August 2021. The move has triggered international condemnation and calls for the Taliban to reverse their decision immediately, as the country grapples with a spiraling humanitarian crisis, a harsh winter, and an economic collapse.
Save the Children, Care, World Vision and the Norwegian Refugee Council have suspended their operations in Afghanistan. They held a joint press briefing on Thursday.
“If we’re not able to start our programming, children will die. Hundreds and thousands of people will die, that’s how serious the situation is,” said Inger Ashing, the CEO of Save the Children International.
Despite initially promising a more moderate rule respecting rights for women and minorities, the Taliban have widely implemented their interpretation of laws since their takeover of the country.
They have banned girls from middle school, high school and university, barred women from most fields of employment and ordered them to wear head-to-toe clothing in public. Women are also banned from parks and gyms. The Afghan society, while largely traditional, had increasingly embraced the education of girls and women.
On Wednesday, the United Nations said some of its “time-critical” programs have stopped temporarily in Afghanistan due to lack of female staff. The UN stressed that its female staff are key to the humanitarian response in the country, accessing a population men cannot and safeguarding the communities being served.
“Banning women from humanitarian work has immediate life-threatening consequences for all Afghans,” the UN warned in its statement.
“This comes at a time when more than 28 million people in Afghanistan, including millions of women and children, require assistance to survive as the country grapples with the risk of famine conditions, economic decline, entrenched poverty and a brutal winter,” the UN added.