Foreign Aid Groups Suspend Work In Afghanistan After Taliban Bans Women Staff

Multiple NGOs and foreign aid groups have suspended operations in Afghanistan after a decision by the Taliban to ban women from working at international and local non-governmental organisations.

- Riazat Butt

Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council and Care said they cannot effectively reach children, women and men in desperate need in Afghanistan without the women in their workforces. The NGO ban was introduced a day earlier, allegedly because women were not correctly wearing the Islamic headscarf.

"We have complied with all cultural norms and we simply can't work without our dedicated female staff, who are essential for us to access women who are in desperate need of assistance," said Neil Turner, Norwegian Refugee Council chief for Afghanistan. He said the group has 468 female staff in the country.

The developments came in response to the Taliban's latest edict that curtails the rights and freedoms of women since they seized power last year. The three NGOs provide healthcare, education, child protection and nutrition services and support amid plummeting humanitarian conditions. The Taliban takeover sent Afghanistan's economy into a tailspin and transformed the country, driving millions into poverty and hunger.