Three foreign NGOs announced on Sunday December 25 that they were suspending their activities in Afghanistan following the Taliban's ban on NGOs working with women, according to a joint statement.
"
While waiting for this announcement to be clarified, we are suspending our programs, demanding that men and women can equally continue our help to save lives in Afghanistan
", declared in this press release the organizations Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council and CARE International.
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On Saturday, the Afghan Ministry of Economy ordered all non-governmental organizations to stop working with women or risk having their operating license suspended.
It was unclear whether the directive applied to foreign female NGO staff.
In the letter issued to local and international NGOs, the ministry explains that it took this decision after receiving "
serious complaints
" that women working in these NGOs did not respect the wearing of the "
Islamic hijab
".
In Afghanistan women are forced to cover their face and their entire body.
“
The UN will seek to meet with Taliban leaders to seek clarification on the reported order
,” the UN said in a statement, while condemning the decree.
She reminds the Afghan authorities that by excluding women “
systematically from all aspects of public and political life
” they are “
setting the country back by compromising efforts to bring peace and meaningful stability to the country
”.
