Taliban Ban on Women UN Staff Threatens Aid in Afghanistan

A staff member with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) speaks with displaced women in the eastern province of Nangahar in Afghanistan. (file).

The United Nations in Afghanistan called on Thursday for the de facto Taliban authorities to lift restrictions barring women national staff from entering its premises.

These measures are putting life-saving humanitarian assistance and other essential services for hundreds of thousands of people affected by a recent deadly earthquake at risk, the UN Mission in the country, UNAMA, warned in a statement.

On Sunday, the de facto security forces prevented Afghan women staff members and contractors from entering UN compounds in the capital, Kabul.

This ban was extended to field offices across the country, following written or verbal notifications from Taliban leadership.

Furthermore, security forces are visibly present at the entrances of UN premises in Kabul, Herat, and Mazar-i-Sharif to enforce the measure.

“This is particularly concerning in view of continuing restrictions on the rights of Afghan women and girls,” the statement said.

Since returning to power four years ago, the Taliban have issued numerous edicts impacting women’s rights, such as prohibiting girls from attending secondary school and banning women from most jobs, including working with non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

The UN has also received reports of security forces attempting to bar women national staff from travelling to field locations, including to support women and girls as part of the earthquake response.

They are also being blocked from accessing operational sites for Afghan returnees from Iran and Pakistan.

The UN is engaging the de facto authorities and calls for the immediate lifting of restrictions to continue critical support to the Afghan people, noting that the current actions disregard “previously communicated arrangements.”

“Such arrangements have enabled the United Nations to deliver critical assistance across the country through a culturally sensitive and principled approach ensuring the delivery of assistance by women, for women,” the statement said.

In the interim, UNAMA and UN agencies, funds and programmes in Afghanistan have implemented operational adjustments to protect staff and assess options for continuing their essential work.

The statement concluded by recalling that the prohibition on the movement of UN staff and the obstruction of UN operations is a breach of international rules on the privileges and immunities of the organization’s personnel.