UN officials have condemned a Taliban decision to bar Afghan female staffers from working at the agency.
Afghan women are already barred from working at national and international non-governmental organizations, disrupting the delivery of humanitarian aid, but the ban did not previously cover working for the UN. On Tuesday, however, the UN mission in Afghanistan expressed concern after its female staffers were prevented from reporting to work in eastern Nangarhar province. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said agency officials were told that the ban applied to the whole country.
The UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, said the latest ban on women was “another gross violation” of their fundamental rights. Taliban restrictions in Afghanistan, especially the bans on education and NGO work, have drawn fierce international condemnation. But the Taliban have shown no signs of backing down, claiming the bans are temporary suspensions in place allegedly because women were not wearing the Islamic headscarf, or hijab, correctly and because gender segregation rules were not being followed.
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