The Taliban will close all non-governmental organizations that employ women in Afghanistan – National
The the Taliban they say they will close all local and foreign non-governmental groups Afghanistan employment of 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 case 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.
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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.
Afghan women sing in protest against strict Taliban laws: ‘My voice is not ‘aurat’
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.
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 looks into such a space then 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 monitor the construction of new buildings to avoid installing windows that look into or over residential buildings, the decree added.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing was not immediately available for comment on Akhundzada’s instructions.
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