The Taliban say they will shut down all national and foreign non-governmental groups in Afghanistan that employ women. It comes two years after NGOs were told to stop hiring Afghan women, allegedly because they did not wear the Islamic headscarf properly.
In a letter released to X on Sunday evening, the Ministry of Economy warned that failure to comply with the latest order would result in NGOs losing their licenses to operate in Afghanistan.
The Ministry announced that it is responsible for the registration, coordination, management and supervision of all activities carried out by domestic and foreign organizations.
The government has again ordered the suspension of all women’s jobs in institutions not controlled by the Taliban, the letter said.
“In the event of non-cooperation, all activities of that institution will be terminated and the work permit issued by the ministry will be revoked for that institution.”
It is the latest attempt by the Taliban to control or intervene in the activities of non-governmental organizations.
Earlier this month, the UN Security Council heard that a growing proportion of Afghanistan’s female aid workers are being prevented from doing their jobs even though help is still needed.
The Taliban deny that they interfered with humanitarian agencies
According to Tom Fletcher, a senior UN official, the proportion of aid organizations reporting that their female or male staff had been stopped by the Taliban’s morality police also increased.
The Taliban deny that they are preventing aid agencies from doing their work or interfering with their activities.
They have already barred women from many jobs and most public spaces, and have also excluded them from education beyond the sixth grade.
CBC’s Susan Ormiston talks to three Afghan exiles living in Canada about the changes they are experiencing in Afghanistan and the impact it has had on women and girls in the country, three years after the US withdrawal from the country.
In another case, Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada ordered that buildings should not have windows facing places where women could sit or stand.
According to the four-clause decree issued X Saturday evening, the order applies to new buildings as well as existing ones.
Windows should not overlook or look into areas such as the yard or kitchen. Where a window overlooks such a space, the person responsible for that property must find a way to block that view to “remove the damage” by erecting a wall, fence or screen.
Municipalities and other authorities must supervise the construction of new buildings to avoid installing windows that look into or above residential buildings, according to the decree.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing was not immediately available for comment on Akhundzada’s instructions.
