UN slams Taliban for stopping its female workers from going to work

Kabul, Apr 4 (EFE).- The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) denounced Tuesday that the Taliban was preventing its female employees from reporting to work in the eastern province of Nangarhar.

The UN mission in Afghanistan “expresses serious concern that female national UN staff have been prevented from reporting to work in Nangarhar province,” UNAMA posted on Twitter without providing details.

“We remind de facto authorities that United Nations entities cannot operate and deliver life-saving assistance without female staff,” it added.

The UN was among the few organizations that were still allowed to employ female staff after the Taliban banned women from working in national or international NGOs in December last year.

Also women contracted by nonprofits in the fields of food and education have been allowed to continue working.

According to UN data, women account for between 30 and 40 percent of humanitarian staff who deliver, manage, monitor and assess the need for assistance.

The Islamist government initially claimed that the ban was temporary, like it did earlier regarding the ban on higher education for women.

Since coming to power in August 2021, the Taliban has imposed a string of restrictions on Afghan women ranging from the imposition of the veil to limiting the freedom of movement of women and girls.

Operations by international agencies in Afghanistan have been affected by the fall in donor contributions following these restrictions as many NGOs limited or suspended their programs in the country.

According to data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), so far this year, less than five percent of the $4.4 billion required for humanitarian support to millions of Afghans has been received. EFE

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