The U.N has instructed its staff in Afghanistan not to report to work for the next two days following a ban by the Taliban on Afghan women working in UN offices.
In response to the apparent extension of the ban on Afghan women working in UN offices by the Taliban, the UN mission in Afghanistan has directed its 3,300 staff members to refrain from reporting to their workplaces for the next 48 hours. This measure has been taken to allow the UN to obtain more clarity on the situation.
After receiving word a day earlier that the de facto authorities in Kabul had banned “female national staff members of the United Nations from working,” UN spokesman Stephen Dujarric told reporters that the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan would hold talks with the Taliban on April 5 to “seek some clarity” on the issue.
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Since seizing control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban has imposed a slew of limitations on women’s rights and liberties. Women are barred from higher education and many government jobs, there is a strict dress code that covers the complete body, and women are not allowed to leave their homes without a male relative.
The UN, which employs approximately 400 Afghan women in its offices in Afghanistan, stated that it was first told of the prohibition in Nangarhar Province, but that it then appeared to be expanded countrywide.
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“There was a much more official communication made in (Nangarhar provincial capital) Jalalabad. We were told through various conduits that this applied to the whole country. Female staff members are essential for the United Nations to deliver life-saving assistance,” U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York.
The Taliban have also disbanded the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and selected an all-male cabinet, raising concerns about the country’s future women’s rights. The international community and women’s rights activists have widely condemned these actions, fearing a return to the oppressive conditions experienced by Afghan women during the Taliban’s previous reign from 1996 to 2001.
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The United Nations has urged the Taliban to respect women’s rights and to allow women to completely participate in Afghan society, including the labor force. The international community has also expressed concern about Afghanistan’s situation and its effect on women’s rights.
It remains to be seen how the Taliban will react to these calls for increased gender equality and human rights respect. The move is the latest in a series of restrictions on Afghan women imposed by the Taliban since they took control of the country in August 2021.
