Afghan women protest in Kabul against the Taliban’s decision to ban universities for women, Thursday, December 22, 2022. STRINGER/ Portal
Following the Taliban authorities’ order for national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to stop hiring women, three foreign NGOs announced on Sunday December 25 that they would cease their activities in Afghanistan.
“We are suspending our programs and requesting that men and women alike continue to help save lives in Afghanistan,” said Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council and CARE International in a joint press release.
“Without our women’s teams, we cannot provide effective assistance to children, women and men in need in Afghanistan,” the press release continued, underscoring the importance of women in the ranks of humanitarian organizations, without whom they could not have done it Not reaching millions of Afghans in need since August 2021.” The three NGOs also castigate a decision they say will “affect thousands of jobs amid a major economic crisis.”
Another NGO, the International Rescue Committee (IRC), which has been present in Afghanistan since 1988, has also announced that it is “suspending” its activities in the country, stressing that of its 8,000 staff, 3,000 are women. “If we are not allowed to employ women, we cannot provide services to those in need,” the IRC said in a statement.
A blow to humanitarian work
On Saturday evening, as the West prepared for Christmas, the Afghan Ministry of Economy ordered all non-governmental organizations to stop working with women or their operating licenses would be revoked. It was unclear whether the policy applied to foreign NGO workers.
In the letter to local and international NGOs, the ministry said it made the decision after receiving “serious complaints” that the women working there did not respect the wearing of the “Islamic hijab”. In Afghanistan, women are forced to cover their faces and entire bodies.
Unless the Taliban authorities “are able to reverse this decision and find a solution to this problem, it will be very difficult to continue providing humanitarian aid in an independent and equitable manner, as women’s participation is very important.” said UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan Ramiz Alakbarov.
“We don’t want to immediately suspend aid because it would harm the Afghan people,” he continued, citing the “devastating” impact on the country’s already ailing economy. According to the United Nations and aid organizations, more than half of the country’s 38 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance during the harsh winter.
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Dozens of organizations work in remote areas of Afghanistan, and many of their staff are women. “The ban will impact all aspects of humanitarian work, as women employees hold key positions in projects that target the country’s vulnerable female population,” a senior foreign NGO official said Sunday.
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repression of women’s rights
From Berlin, Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called on Sunday for “a clear reaction from the international community” and added: “We will not accept that the Taliban make humanitarian aid an issue of their contempt for women.” In a statement, the UN reminded the Afghan authorities that by “systematically excluding women from all aspects of public and political life” they are “setting the country back by undermining efforts towards peace and meaningful stability”.
The Taliban’s announcement was also condemned on Sunday by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC, 57-member states), whose Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha “urged the regime” to review its decision, which it described as “contrary to the interests of the Afghan people.” “.
The noose around women has tightened in recent months. The Taliban, who returned to power in August 2021, less than a week ago banned them from attending public and private universities on the same grounds of non-compliance with dress codes. They had already expelled her from secondary schools. They are also barred from many public jobs, cannot travel without a male relative, and have been instructed to cover themselves outside the home, ideally with a burqa. They are also not allowed to enter the parks.
“This recent outrageous curtailment of girls’ and women’s rights will have far-reaching implications for the delivery of health, nutrition and education services to children,” UNICEF Regional Director George Laryea-Adjei tweeted Sunday.
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