Aid will be affected: UN on ban on female employees at NGOs by Taliban

As the Taliban banned female employees from working at NGOs, the United Nations Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths said that the quality of the UN aid will be impacted to quite an extent if Afghan women cannot go to work in the country, TOLOnews reported on Thursday.

He also stated that six million people will face famine if timely aid is not provided.

"If we cannot get female employees back to work--which they are working in those two sectors and we are going to expand it, but if they weren't--we would not be able to operate because we would not be able to deliver the kind of quality of programming we need. It is a practical matter," he said in an interview with TOLOnews, as he expressed concerns about the ban on female employees by the Taliban.

Griffiths reported that the UN had made the largest-ever worldwide plea for Afghanistan in 2023, asking for USD 4.6 billion.

"They should respect the rules of our country and make their operations in accordance with the rules of our country," said Islamic Emirate's spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, as per TOLOnews.

"There isn't time for us to go back. All we have is the determination to move forward. Women will eventually be allowed because they have a right to, but we still need them to give birth. Afghanistan, therefore, represents the top humanitarian priority in the entire world. You have witnessed these visits because of that," Griffiths added.

Amid the ongoing violation of the rights of Afghan women under the Taliban regime, Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid recently said in a statement that overturning restrictions against women is not a priority for the group, reported Khaama Press.

The latest action by the Taliban to ban women from working in NGOs generated protests by female university students and women activists in several regions of the country, as well as sparked condemnation globally.