NEW YORK: Some “time-critical” programmes in Afghanistan have been temporarily suspended following a ban by the Taliban on women working in non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the United Nations’ Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) said on Wednesday.
Banning women from doing humanitarian work in Afghanistan “has immediate life-threatening consequences for all Afghans,“ the IASC said in a statement, urging the Taliban to reverse the ban.
“While humanitarian organisations continue to engage the de facto authorities, we cannot ignore the operational constraints now facing us as a humanitarian community,“ said the committee, which comprises 18 UN and non-UN organisations and is the UN’s highest-level humanitarian coordination forum.
“We will endeavour to continue lifesaving, time-critical activities unless impeded... But we foresee that many activities will need to be paused as we cannot deliver principled humanitarian assistance without female aid workers,“ it said, reported dpa.
The statement, signed by the executive heads of humanitarian organisations including UN aid chief Martin Griffiths and World Health Organisation (WHO) head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that some “time-critical programmes” have already had to be paused “due to the lack of female staff.”
The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan is considered precarious. Since the Taliban returned to power last year amid the withdrawal of international troops, the economy has collapsed.
The United Nations and its partners, including national and international NGOs, are currently assisting more than 28 million Afghans who depend on humanitarian aid for their survival, according to UN figures. The country has an estimated population of 37 million.
The Taliban have massively restricted women’s rights since taking power in August 2021. Girls and women are now largely excluded from public life and many have not been allowed to return to their jobs. Most recently, the regime banned women from attending university. - Bernama
