UN Urges Taliban To Lift Work Ban For Local Female Assistance Workers In Afghanistan

Illustration of the United Nations. (Wikimedia Commons/Leif Jryptensen)

JAKARTA - The United Nations on Thursday urged the Taliban government in Afghanistan to lift restrictions for its local female staff to work, warning that aid for earthquake victims and other vulnerable Afghans is threatened.

The United Nations stated that de facto arrangements that have been in effect to date have allowed the distribution of aid.

"The regulation has allowed the United Nations to distribute essential aid across the country, through a culture-sensitive and principled approach, ensuring the distribution of aid by women, to women," the United Nations said.

Taliban authorities deployed security forces at the entrances of the UN complex and field offices, preventing Afghan female staff from entering, the United Nations said in a statement.

Taliban spokesman did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Afghanistan is battling the impact of an earthquake in late August that killed more than 2,200 people, the return of millions of Afghan refugees expelled from neighboring Pakistan and Iran, as well as drought in the country's northern region.

The Taliban have imposed growing restrictions on women's work since coming to power in 2021, including in non-governmental organizations, but previously not strictly enforced the rule for women working for the United Nations.

The Taliban government has also banned girls from attending high school and women from university education.

However, the Taliban said they respected women's rights in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic law and would ensure women could receive assistance.

However, in an effort to aid earthquakes, female humanitarian workers are facing Taliban rules requiring them to travel only with male guardians, and access to women in need becomes difficult, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The UN charter does not allow discrimination against women, an issue that is also a major concern for potential donor countries.

Afghanistan itself has previously faced an aid crisis due to crises elsewhere in the world, such as Ukraine and Gaza, increasingly attracting attention.