UN urges Taliban to lift ban on women entering offices

The ban that has been in effect since September endangering “life-saving services” of UN agencies in the country, said Susan Ferguson of the UN Agency for Women in Afghanistan on Sunday. It also violates human rights and equality principles.

The Taliban had already banned non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from working with Afghan women in 2022. In 2023, they expanded the measure to UN agencies, but tolerated the employment of women in certain areas or working from home.

Since September, all Afghan UN employees have had to work from home and are no longer allowed to enter the offices of UN facilities in the country. According to UN sources, several hundred women are affected.

“Women’s work is indispensable for UN organizations in Afghanistan”

The work of women is indispensable for the UN organizations in Afghanistan, emphasized Ferguson: “Only through their presence can we safely reach women and girls and provide culturally appropriate help.” In September, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) stopped paying out aid to returning Afghans because it could no longer interview returning women without local female employees.

Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world and has been marked by decades of war. In the summer of 2021, the radical Islamic Taliban returned to power amid the withdrawal of Western forces. They proclaimed an Islamist emirate and have since enforced a strict interpretation of Islam with draconian laws. Basic rights, especially women’s rights, have been massively restricted since then. Many states and organizations reduced their aid to the country.