Three foreign NGOs announced on Sunday that they would suspend their activities in Afghanistan a day after the Taliban’s decision to ban women from working for local and international NGOs that are essential in the country.
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In a joint statement, Save the Children, the Norwegian Council for Refugees and CARE International announced on Sunday afternoon that they were suspending their activities until the announcement made by the Taliban on Saturday evening was “clarified”.
“We are suspending our programs, asking that men and women can continue our aid to save lives in Afghanistan in the same way”, explain the three associations.
On Sunday, senior UN officials and dozens of NGOs operating in Afghanistan conferred on how to proceed after the Taliban ordered them to stop working with women.
Violation of the dress code
On Saturday evening, as the West geared up to celebrate Christmas, Afghanistan’s economy ministry ordered all non-governmental organizations to stop working with women or risk having their business license suspended. It was unclear whether the directive applied to foreign female NGO staff.
In the letter sent to local and international NGOs, the ministry explains that it took this decision after receiving “serious complaints” that the women who work there did not respect the use of the “Islamic hijab”.
In Afghanistan, women are forced to cover their faces and entire bodies. “We have never been notified of any issues regarding the dress code for women,” an association official said on Sunday.
“The ban will impact all aspects of humanitarian work, as female employees hold key positions in projects targeting the country’s vulnerable female population,” a senior aid agency official told AFP on Sunday.
Millions of Afghans depend on humanitarian aid provided by international donors through a vast network of NGOs.
Efforts to establish peace are compromised
In a statement, the UN reminded the Afghan authorities that by excluding women “systematically from all aspects of public and political life”, they are “setting the country back, undermining efforts to achieve peace and significant stability. in the country”.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Sunday called for “a clear reaction from the international community”. “Those who exclude women and girls from work, education and public life are not only ruining their country (…) We are committed to getting a clear reaction from the international community,” she said on twitter.
The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs had indicated on Twitter during the night between Saturday and Sunday that Switzerland was “shocked”. “We are assessing the impact on humanitarian efforts and are asking the Taliban to reconsider their decision,” she added.
“Huge Consequences”
The noose around women has tightened in recent months. The Taliban, who returned to power in August 2021, banned them, less than a week ago, from attending public and private universities, for the same reasons of not respecting the dress code. They had already barred them from secondary schools.
They are also barred from many public works, cannot travel without a male relative and have been ordered to cover themselves outside the home, ideally with a burqa. They are also not allowed to enter the parks.
“This latest dramatic downsizing in girls’ and women’s rights will have far-reaching consequences for the delivery of health, nutrition and education services to children,” UNICEF Regional Director George Laryea-Adjei tweeted on Sunday.
Dozens of organizations work in remote areas of Afghanistan and many of their employees are women. Many of them have warned that a ban on female staff would hamper their work.
“Fighting for our rights”
“There are fifteen of us in my family and I am the only support, if I lose my job, my family will starve,” testified Shabana, 24, an NGO employee in Kabul. “As you celebrate the arrival of the new year, Afghanistan has become a hell for women,” added the young woman on this Christmas day.
Not wanting to mention her name for fear of reprisals from the Taliban, another 27-year-old Afghan woman, who on Sunday was to start working in an international NGO, saw her “dreams fly away”.
“The hard work I had put in the last few years in education has been shattered,” she testified to AFP. “But we are brave enough not to accept the bans and to fight for our rights. It may take some time, but if we believe in ourselves, we will come back stronger than ever,” said the young woman.
According to the United Nations and humanitarian agencies, more than half of the country’s 38 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance during the harsh winter.
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