NGOs suspend work in Afghanistan after Taliban regime bars female employees

Major international aid groups suspended operations in Afghanistan on Sunday after the Taliban banned women from working at nongovernmental organizations until further notice, prompting worldwide condemnation.

The Taliban’s Economy Ministry announced Saturday that women could no longer work for NGOs as a result of complaints that some women had not adhered to the Taliban’s interpretation of the Islamic dress code for women, which includes wearing the hijab correctly. Earlier this year, the Taliban ordered all Afghan women to wear head-to-toe coverings in public.

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Save the Children, the International Rescue Committee, the Norwegian Refugee Council, and CARE International suspended their operations in the country after the decision was made Saturday. The four NGOs were providing education, healthcare, nutrition services, and child protection amid deteriorating humanitarian conditions.

“We cannot effectively reach children, women and men in desperate need in Afghanistan without our female staff,” read a joint statement from Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council, and CARE International.

Separately, the IRC said it was suspending services in Afghanistan for similar reasons. Nearly half of the committee’s employees are women.

“Our ability to deliver services rely on female staff at all levels of our organization. If we are not allowed to employ women, we are not able to deliver to those in need,” the IRC said in a statement Sunday, according to Axios.

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Charge d’Affaires of the U.S. Mission to Afghanistan Karen Decker questioned on Twitter how the Taliban planned to prevent hunger among women and children after the ban, pointing out that the United States is the largest donor of humanitarian aid in the country.

A spokesman for the Taliban administration, Zabihullah Mujahid, attempted to defend the move, saying all organizations in Afghanistan are required to follow the rules set by the country.

“We do not allow anyone to talk rubbish or make threats regarding the decisions of our leaders under the title of humanitarian aid,” Mujahid said on Twitter.

Earlier this month, the U.N. humanitarian office warned that a record 28.3 million people will need humanitarian and other assistance next year.