CNN
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Three international help teams stated Sunday that they have been transferring to briefly droop their operations in Afghanistan after the Taliban barred feminine workers of non-governmental organizations from coming to paintings.
“We cannot effectively reach children, women and men in desperate need in Afghanistan without our female staff,” help organizations Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council and CARE International stated in a joint remark Sunday.
“Without women driving our response, we would not have jointly reached millions of Afghans in need since August 2021. Beyond the impact on delivery of lifesaving assistance, this will affect thousands of jobs in the midst of an enormous economic crisis,” stated the remark, which used to be signed via the heads of the 3 NGOs.
“Whilst we gain clarity on this announcement, we are suspending our programmes, demanding that men and women can equally continue our lifesaving assistance in Afghanistan,” the remark added.
The Taliban management on Saturday ordered all native and global non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to forestall their feminine workers from coming to paintings, in keeping with a letter via the Ministry of Economy despatched to all approved NGOs. Non-compliance will lead to revoking the licenses of stated NGOs, the ministry stated.
In the letter, the ministry cites the non-observation of Islamic get dressed regulations and different rules and rules as causes for the verdict.
“Lately there have been serious complaints regarding not observing the Islamic hijab and other Islamic Emirate’s laws and regulations,” the letter stated, including that consequently “guidance is given to suspend work of all female employees of national and international non-governmental organizations.”
Earlier this week, the Taliban executive suspended college training for all feminine scholars in Afghanistan.
In a televised information convention on Thursday, the Taliban’s upper training minister stated they’d banned ladies from universities for now not looking at Islamic get dressed regulations and different “Islamic values,” bringing up feminine scholars touring and not using a male father or mother. The transfer sparked outrage amongst ladies in Afghanistan.
A bunch of girls took to the streets within the town of Herat on Saturday to protest the college ban. Video photos circulating on social media confirmed Taliban officers the usage of a water cannon to disperse the feminine protesters. Girls may well be observed operating from the water cannon and chanting “cowards” at officers.
The new restrictions mark but some other step within the Taliban’s brutal crackdown at the freedoms of Afghan ladies, following the hardline Islamist workforce’s takeover of the rustic in August 2021.
Though the Taliban has time and again claimed it might give protection to the rights of women and girls, it has in truth executed the other, stripping away the hard-won freedoms they have got fought tirelessly for over the last 20 years.
Some of its maximum putting restrictions were round training, with women additionally barred from returning to secondary faculties in March. The transfer devastated many scholars and their households, who described to CNN their dashed desires of changing into medical doctors, academics or engineers.
The United Nations on Saturday condemned the Taliban’s NGO announcement and stated it might attempt to download a gathering with Taliban management to hunt readability.
“Women must be enabled to play a critical role in all aspects of life, including the humanitarian response. Banning women from work would violate the most fundamental rights of women, as well as be a clear breach of humanitarian principles,” the UN remark learn. “This latest decision will only further hurt those most vulnerable, especially women and girls.”
UNICEF stated the order used to be an “egregious rollback of rights for girls and women (that) will have sweeping consequences on the provision of health, nutrition and education services for children.”
Amnesty International referred to as for the ban to “be reversed immediately” and for the Taliban to “stop misusing their power.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken additionally condemned the transfer Saturday. “Deeply concerned that the Taliban’s ban on women delivering humanitarian aid in Afghanistan will disrupt vital and life-saving assistance to millions,” he wrote on Twitter. “Women are central to humanitarian operations around the world. This decision could be devastating for the Afghan people.”
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mojahid stated US officers must “not interfere in the internal issues of” Afghanistan.
“Those organization operative in Afghanistan are obliged to comply with the laws and regulations of our country,” he tweeted Sunday, including, “We do not permit anyone to state irresponsible words or make threats about the decisions or officials of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan under the title of humanitarian aid.”
