The United States has condemned the Taliban for ordering non-government groups in Afghanistan to stop employing women, saying the ban will cut off vital, life-saving assistance for millions of people.
The Taliban takeover last year sent Afghanistan’s economy into a tailspin and transformed the country, driving millions of people into poverty and hunger. Foreign aid stopped almost overnight. Sanctions on Taliban rulers, halting bank transfers and freezing billions in Afghanistan’s foreign exchange reserves have already restricted access to global institutions and the foreign money that supported the country’s aid-dependent economy. before the withdrawal of US and NATO forces.
“Women are critical to humanitarian operations around the world,” Blinken said Saturday. “This decision could be devastating for the Afghan people.”
The NGO’s order came in a letter from Economy Minister Qari Din Mohammed Hanif. He said that any organization that does not comply with the order will have its license to operate in Afghanistan revoked. It is the latest blow to women’s rights and freedoms since the Taliban seized power last year and follows sweeping restrictions on education, employment, clothing and travel.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was deeply disturbed by the reports about the ban.
“The United Nations and its partners, including national and international non-governmental organizations, are helping more than 28 million Afghans who depend on humanitarian aid to survive,” it said in a statement.
Aid agencies and NGOs are expected to make a statement on Sunday.
The Economy Ministry edict comes days after the Taliban banned female students from attending universities across the country, sparking a backlash abroad and demonstrations in major Afghan cities.
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Around midnight on Saturday in the western city of Herat, where earlier protesters were dispersed with water cannons, people opened their windows and chanted “Allahu Akbar (God is great)” in solidarity with the female students.
In the southern city of Kandahar, also on Saturday, hundreds of male students boycotted their final semester exams at Mirwais Neeka University. One of them told The Associated Press that Taliban forces tried to disperse the crowd as they left the exam room.
“They tried to disperse us, so we chanted slogans, then others joined the chants,” said Akhbari, who gave only his last name. “We refused to move and the Taliban thought we were protesting. The Taliban began firing their rifles into the air. I saw two guys being hit, one of them in the head.”
A spokesman for the Kandahar provincial governor, Ataullah Zaid, denied that there was a protest. There were some people posing as students and teachers, he said, but they were stopped by students and security forces.
