Taliban ban on women has forced UN into ‘appalling choice’
The UN says that the negative consequences of the crisis for the Afghan people will be the responsibility of the de facto authorities.
The United Nations is being forced to make a “terrible choice” over whether or not to continue operations in Afghanistan, while the Taliban government has banned women from working for the organization.
Taliban authorities have imposed a slew of restrictions on Afghan women since taking power in 2021, including a ban on higher education and many government jobs. In December, they banned Afghan women from working for domestic and foreign non-governmental organizations, and on April 4, they expanded that to UN offices across the country.
In a statement on Tuesday, the UN mission in Afghanistan said the ban was “illegitimate under international law, including the UN Charter, and therefore the United Nations cannot comply with it.”
“Through this ban, the Taliban’s de facto authorities are trying to force the United Nations to make a dire choice between staying and delivering in support of the Afghan people and sticking to the standards and principles we are obliged to uphold,” it read. said.
The rising curbs are reminiscent of the Taliban’s first takeover of Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001, when the UN said they were responsible for repeated human rights violations – especially against girls and women.
“It should be clear that any negative consequences of this crisis for the Afghan people are the responsibility of the de facto authorities,” the statement said.
Decree in violation of the UN charter
The UN employs about 400 Afghan women in the country, the majority of whom are local workers. Earlier this month, Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Afghanistan, said the decree violated the world body’s charter.
“It is absolutely clear that no authority can give instructions to the United Nations … as to who should be employed,” he told AFP news agency. “We’re not going to make an exception.”
Since the ban was announced, the UN has instructed all its Afghan employees, both men and women, not to report to the offices until further notice.
The ban sparked international outrage, with Taliban authorities coming under heavy criticism. They have so far not provided any clarification or reason for the UN ban.
In all, there are about 3,300 Afghans in the country’s 3,900-strong UN workforce.
Many NGOs suspended all operations in the country in protest after the ban on female personnel was declared in December, adding further misery to Afghan citizens, half of whom are starving, aid agencies said.
After days of discussions, it was agreed that women working in the health sector would be exempt from the decree, although the UN also enjoyed a blanket exemption.
The restriction will also hamper UN efforts to collect donations at a time when Afghanistan is experiencing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, UN officials said.
The UN airlifted $1.8 billion to Afghanistan between December 2021 and January 2023, funding a helpline for the country’s 38 million citizens and supporting the domestic economy.
In other restrictions imposed on Afghan women since 2021, teenage girls have been barred from high school, women have been pushed out of many government jobs, are not allowed to travel without a male relative, and have been ordered to cover themselves when outdoors, preferably with a burqa.
Women are also banned from universities and are not allowed to enter parks, gyms or public baths.