Taliban say ban on women staff is no obstacle to UN work in Afghanistan

The increasing curbs on women are reminiscent of the Taliban’s first government between 1996 and 2001. Above, Taliban security forces disperse Afghan women protesters in Kabul on Aug. 13, 2022. (AFP)

• Decision ‘should be respected by all sides,’ Taliban govt says
• UN calls Taliban order an unparalleled violation of women’s rights

KABUL: The Taliban government said on Wednesday that forbidding Afghan women from working for the UN is an “internal issue” and will not create obstacles to the global organization’s operations in Afghanistan.
The statement comes a day after the UN launched a review of its work in the country and told about 3,000 of its Afghan staff, both men and women, to stay at home.
According to the UN, the Taliban ban is forcing it to make an “appalling choice” about whether it can continue its mission in Afghanistan.
In the Taliban’s first full statement since the UN acknowledged receiving the order last week, chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Wednesday that the government is “committed to all the rights of our people.”
“The Islamic Emirate does not want to create obstacles for the United Nations; rather, it wants to make it clear that this is an internal issue of Afghanistan, which does not create problem for anyone and should be respected by all sides,” Mujahid said.
“This decision does not mean that there is discrimination, or creates obstacles to the functions of the United Nations.”
Mujahid said the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan is the result of sanctions and pressure from the international community, including travel bans, restrictions on its banking sector and the freezing of Afghan central bank assets.
The ban on Afghan women working for the UN was the latest in a series of curbs imposed on women since the Taliban took over the country in 2021.
The ruling administration has banned education for girls and women beyond the sixth grade, while women are also barred from working, studying, or traveling without a male companion. In December, the Taliban also placed a ban on most female NGO workers.
The UN has said it cannot accept the decision, calling it unlawful and an unparalleled violation of women’s rights.
Both Afghan women and men are essential to all aspects of UN work in Afghanistan, including delivery of life-saving aid to millions of people, the global body said.
“People have lost their hope in Afghanistan,” Farimah Nikkhwa, an Afghan women’s rights activist, told Arab News.
The situation is “really worrying,” she said, adding that those protesting or raising awareness in the country have either been arrested or tortured.
Nikkhwa said she is concerned that human rights organizations and the UN are not taking enough action against the Taliban.
“The Taliban are hard-liners and I hope their rule is not sustained in Afghanistan. Women in Afghanistan do not even have the most basic rights; the situation is really frustrating and unbearable.”
However, Arzo Joya, a former NGO worker, said she is still holding on to hope despite everything that has happened in her country.
“I hope the Taliban revise such decision and give permission to women to work and resume education, as well to see a developed and advanced Afghanistan in the future,” she said.