Taliban Bans Women's Workers, UN Closes Eight Aid Centers

JAKARTA - The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) closed eight centers providing support for Afghan refugees forced back into the country, as Taliban authorities banned UN female staff, an official said on Friday.

The United Nations says Pakistan is repatriating Afghan refugees beyond their will, warning about one million people could be affected. In the first week of September alone, nearly 100,000 people had crossed back, according to UNHCR data.

UNHCR representatives for Afghanistan Arafat Jamal said his party closed eight centers providing cash and other support for refugees returning on September 9 due to a ban on women aid workers.

"This is an operational decision. It is not a decision taken to punish anyone or to make a statement, but only to show that we cannot work without female workers under certain circumstances," he told a news conference in Geneva via a video link from Kabul.

"This is a big step, and creating tremendous suffering for these people," he added, adding these centers usually help about 7,000 people per day.

The work at these centers involved private interviews and biometrics that he said men could not do with Afghan women, he said.

Some of those deported from Pakistan recently were among those who lost their homes to the country's worst earthquake in recent years to hit the night of August 31 to September 1 and followed by strong aftershocks.

Earlier, the United Nations on Thursday called on the Taliban government to lift restrictions on its local female staff, warning that aid for earthquake victims and other vulnerable Afghans was threatened.

Despite the restrictions having been in effect for years, Jamal said the restrictions were now being enforced more strictly, adding military observers had been stationed outside of his compound to enforce the ban.

"The reason for this strengthening is still unclear, but what I can say is that it has been done in a quite dramatic way," Jamal explained.

Negotiations with the Taliban continue at this point, he added, and he hopes to reopen the centers.