Taliban stop Afghan women from working as aid workers
In a new set of guidelines, the Taliban have now banned Afghan women from ‘working as aid workers’, preventing desperately needed life-saving aid from reaching Afghans. A local media quoted Human Rights Watch (HRW) as saying.
“The Taliban’s severe sanctions on female aid workers are preventing life-saving aid from reaching Afghans, especially women, girls and women-headed families. Allowing women aid workers to do their jobs is subject to conditions by agencies or donors. It’s not a matter of having humanitarian aid, but an operational need to deliver that aid,” TOLO news quoted Heather Barr, associate women’s rights director at Human Rights Watch.
The news channel, citing HRW, reported that only three of the 34 provinces have officially allowed women workers to work.
A document reviewed by Human Rights Watch indicates that, as of October 28, 2021, Taliban officials in only three provinces had provided a written agreement allowing female aid workers to do their jobs. In much of the country, female aid workers face severe restrictions, such as requiring a male member of the family to escort them while they do their jobs, making it difficult or impossible for them to do their jobs effectively. ,” Tolonnews quoted the report as saying.
“It deprives women and children who are desperately needed in remote provinces, and it also intensifies the crisis,” the news channel quoted women’s rights defender Zarqa Yaftali as saying.
“The Islamic Emirate (Taliban) must cooperate with the United Nations in Afghanistan to gain recognition and (the UN) will continue its aid to the people,” Tolonnews quoted civil rights activist Soman as saying.
(with inputs from ANI)
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