The United Nations has suspended some of its programmes in Afghanistan and warned few other initiatives would also get affected owing to a recent order by the Taliban barring women from working in non-governmental organisations.
The UN said some of its 'time-critical' programmes have been temporarily stopped in Afghanistan.
UN aid chief Martin Griffiths, the heads of UN agencies and several aid groups called upon the Taliban administration to withdraw the ban. In a joint statement, they said, “Women's participation in aid delivery is not negotiable and must continue. Banning women from humanitarian work has immediate life-threatening consequences for all Afghans. Already, some time-critical programmes have had to stop temporarily due to lack of female staff," Reuters reported quoting the statement.
The statement said, “ This comes at a time when more than 28 million people in Afghanistan, including millions of women and children, require assistance to survive as the country grapples with the risk of famine conditions, economic decline, entrenched poverty and a brutal winter.”
The agencies urged authorities to reverse the order and all other directives banning women from public life, including a recent order barring women from attending Universities. “No country can afford to exclude half of its population from contributing to society,” the statement said.
Reuters reported that four major global groups have suspended their humanitarian aid in Afghanistan due to lack of female staff.
