Afghanistan: Taliban orders all NGOs to stop employing women or face closure

Taliban has announced it will close all national and foreign nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) employing women in Afghanistan. In a letter shared on X, Taliban-led Ministry of Economy warned that failure to comply with the order would result in NGOs losing their licence to function in Afghanistan, Al Jazeera reported.

The Taliban announced the latest decision two years after they asked NGOs to suspend the employment of Afghan women, allegedly as they did not follow Taliban’s interpretation of the Islamic dress code for women.

The Taliban-led Economy Ministry said that it was responsible for the registration, coordination, leadership and supervision of all activities conducted by national and foreign organisations.

The Taliban has once again ordered the women to stop working in institutions not controlled by Taliban, according to the letter. It said, “In case of lack of cooperation, all activities of that institution will be cancelled and the activity licence of that institution, granted by the ministry, will also be cancelled.”

Restrictions have been imposed on Afghan women since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, prompting the United Nations to denounce the “gender apartheid” the authorities have established, according to Al Jazeera report.

Taliban has banned girls from studying beyond sixth class, restricted employment and blocked access to parks and other public places. While announcing the decision, Taliban had said that the ban was a “temporary suspension” that would be resolved after creating a safe environment for girls to attend school. However, no change in decision has been announced yet.

Earlier this month, the UN Security Council was informed about that the rising number of female Afghan humanitarian workers being stopped from carrying out their duties, despite the critical need for relief work, Al Jazeera reported.

A senior UN offiical, Tom Fletcher, said that there was a rise in the number of humanitarian organisations that have had female or male staff blocked by Taliban, according to Al Jazeera report. The group has denied hindering work of aid agencies or interfering with their operations and defends its decisions necessary to uphold Afghanistan’s law, social norms and public safety.

Taliban has also denied imposing ban on women’s activities and said that nearly 9,000 work permits have been issued to women since the group has seized power and claimed that many women were part of the Afghan workforce.