The Taliban have banned women and girls since coming to power.
New York:
The UN has said it is ready to leave Afghanistan in May if the Taliban do not allow local women to work for the organisation, the head of the UN Development Program said.
The United Nations is in talks with the Taliban in the hope that it will make an exception to a decree banning local women from working for the organisation.
UNDP Administrator, Achin Steiner, said: “It is fair to say that where we are now, the entire UN system has to take a step back and re-evaluate its ability to operate. But it is important to negotiate fundamental principles.” Not about.” , human right.”
The United Nations recently expressed “grave concern” after Afghan female UN staff members were banned from reporting to work in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Nangarhar, reports Afghanistan-based Khama Press.
The UN said: “The United Nations in Afghanistan expresses serious concern that female national UN staff have been prevented from reporting to work in Nangarhar province.”
The United Nations warned the Taliban that life-saving aid would be at risk without female staff as most of the international organization’s staff are female.
“We indeed remind the authorities that UN entities cannot provide life-saving assistance without female staff,” the UN said on Twitter, Khama Press reported.
International organisations, including the United Nations, have repeatedly expressed their concern over the exclusion of women from the aid sector, saying that without female staff, organizations would not be able to reach women in need.
Since coming to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban have placed restrictions on women and girls, barring them from education and employment.
The Taliban first banned girls from attending school after the sixth grade; In December 2022, a decree barred Afghan women from pursuing higher education and working with national and international NGOs.
According to Khama Press, the repressive restrictions on women are facing widespread criticism from national and international organisations, warning that it will hinder humanitarian aid to Afghanistan’s most needy people.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)