The Taliban have extended a ban on working in the whole country to Afghan women employed by the United Nations, the UN announced on Tuesday, denouncing an “inconceivable” decision which risks hampering humanitarian operations.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said earlier in the day that Afghan UN workers, so far spared from such restrictive measures, had been prevented from working in Nangarhar province. , in the east of the country.
“UNAMA has heard of an order from the de facto authorities that prohibits UN national female employees from working” and “we were told through different channels that the ban applies to the whole country”, said to the press Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary General, António Guterres.
PHOTO BEBETO MATTHEWS, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary General António Guterres, in 2017
Noting that no written orders had been received at this stage, he said UN officials were due to meet authorities in Kabul on Wednesday to try to get “clarity”.
Some 3,900 people work for the UN in Afghanistan, including 3,300 nationals, according to UN figures. About 600 women are among these employees, including about 400 Afghans.
“For the Secretary General, such a ban would be unacceptable and frankly inconceivable”, insisted Stéphane Dujarric, denouncing a tendency to “undermine the capacities of humanitarian organizations to help those who need it most”.
Obviously, given the society and the culture, we need women to distribute humanitarian aid to women.
Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the UN Secretary General
Even if the UN is currently analyzing the impact on its operations, “it is very difficult to imagine how to distribute humanitarian aid without our female staff”, he insisted, pointing out that 23 million men, women and children are affected by humanitarian aid.
Concerns
Contacted by AFP after UNAMA’s tweet about Nangarhar province, government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said he was inquiring about what happened.
Afghanistan is in the grip of one of the worst humanitarian crises on the planet: more than half of its 38 million inhabitants are facing acute food insecurity and 3 million children are at risk of malnutrition.
However, in Afghan society, deeply conservative and patriarchal, it is not allowed for a woman to speak to a man who is not a close relative. A woman can therefore only come into contact with an aid recipient of the same sex.
On December 24, 2022, the Afghan Ministry of Economy announced that the 1,260 NGOs operating in the country were now prohibited from working with Afghan women, due to “serious complaints” about non-compliance with the wearing of the hijab, which must fully cover the body and face. The UN, however, was not involved.
The head of UNAMA, Rosa Otunbayeva, had nevertheless expressed her concerns during a speech delivered to the United Nations Security Council on March 8, International Women’s Day.
“We are also concerned that national female personnel working for the United Nations will also be banned,” she said.
The day after the ban, several NGOs announced that they were suspending their activities, before resuming them in mid-January with the support of their female staff in a few sectors benefiting from exemptions such as health and nutrition.
Since their return to power in August 2021, the Taliban have returned to the austere interpretation of Islam which marked their first passage to power (1996-2001) and have multiplied the draconian measures against women.