The Taliban Threaten to Close NGOs Still Employing Women
According to World Vision, “Afghanistan is currently facing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, worsened by two devasting earthquake events in 2022 and 2023. The landlocked country has been entangled in conflict, drought, extreme poverty, and natural disasters.” Average life expectancy is 62 years.
Meanwhile, the enlightened cavemen running Afghanistan, afraid that someone might gaze upon a woman’s bare ankles, warned humanitarian NGOs that their continued employment of women would result in the revocation of their authority to operate in Afghanistan. Fred-fasa and Barney-stan recently reiterated a two-year old order banning women from education and employment. Here is a summary from the Associated Press:
The Taliban say they will close all national and foreign nongovernmental groups in Afghanistan employing women. It comes two years after they told NGOs to suspend the employment of Afghan women, allegedly because they didn’t wear the Islamic headscarf correctly. In a letter published on X Sunday night, the Economy Ministry warned that failure to comply with the latest order would lead to NGOs losing their license to operate in Afghanistan.
The ministry said it was responsible for the registration, coordination, leadership and supervision of all activities carried out by national and foreign organizations. The government was once again ordering the stoppage of all female work in institutions not controlled by the Taliban, according to the letter. “In case of lack of cooperation, all activities of that institution will be canceled and the activity license of that institution, granted by the ministry, will also be canceled.”
Women can still work from home or online, according to AMU TV. There are also limited exemptions for women working outside the home in education and health care but only so long as employers provide separate entrances, rest areas, and prayer spaces for female staff. And that women wear full hijab and travel with a male guardian (mahram). And employers must justify and document the presence of female employees. Volker Turk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a statement on December 31:
I am deeply alarmed at the recent announcement by the de facto authorities in Afghanistan that non-governmental organizations’ licenses will be revoked if they continue to employ Afghan women. This is absolutely the wrong path being taken by the de facto authorities. In a letter dated 26 December, the de facto Ministry of Economy ordered national and international NGOs to comply with a decree issued two years ago which bars them from employing Afghan women.
The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan remains dire, with more than half the population living in poverty. NGOs play a vital role in providing critical life-saving assistance – to Afghan women, men, girls and boys – and this measure will directly impact the ability of the population to receive humanitarian aid. I once again urge the de facto authorities in Afghanistan to revoke this deeply discriminatory decree, and all other measures which seek to eradicate women and girls’ access to education, work and public services, including healthcare, and that restrict their freedom of movement.
No country can progress – politically, economically or socially – while excluding half of its population from public life. For the future of Afghanistan, the de facto authorities must change course.
How bizarre and incongruous is it that bearded cavemen in sandals ban women from life via cyberspace, allowing exceptions for work on Zoom using cell phones and computers?
darryll k. jones