UN implores Taliban to reverse ban on women in NGOs

Girls go to school along a road in Garde, in the province of Paktia, on September 8, 2022. – / AFP The UN on Tuesday, December 31, asked the Taliban, in power in Afghanistan, to cancel the ban on Afghan women working for NGOs, saying he was “deeply” alarmed by this recent announcement. Since the return of the Taliban to Kabul in August 2021, women have gradually been driven out of public spaces, prompting the UN to denounce “gender apartheid”. “I am deeply alarmed by the recent announcement by the de facto authorities of Afghanistan that NGO licenses will be revoked if they continue to employ Afghan women. This is absolutely going in the wrong direction,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in a statement. Last week, the Afghan Ministry of Economy reminded NGOs, national and international, that they were prohibited from working with women, after a first announcement to this effect in December 2022. Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers In Afghanistan, NGOs banned from employing women, disregarding the needs of the population Read later Employees in the health and education sectors and those who work remotely are exempt, however reported Sunday organization ACBAR, which brings together around two hundred NGOs in Afghanistan, after a meeting with the ministry in Kabul. “For the future of Afghanistan, the de facto authorities must change course,” called Mr. Türk, recalling that non-governmental organizations played “an essential role” in this country where the humanitarian situation “remains disastrous”. A series of repressive laws Half of the Afghan population (45 million) lives below the poverty line, according to the World Bank. “No country can progress – politically, economically or socially – by excluding half of its population from public life,” said the UN official, urging “the repeal of this deeply discriminatory decree, as well as all other measures that aim to eradicate women and girls’ access to education, work and public services, including health care, and which restrict their freedom of movement. » Currently, Afghan women can no longer study beyond primary school, go to parks, gyms, beauty salons, or even leave their homes without a chaperone. A recent law prohibits them from singing or declaiming poetry, under, like other directives, an ultra-rigorous application of Islamic law. Le Monde Mémorable Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde” Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde” Discover It also encourages them to “veil” their voice and their body outside of their homes. Some local radio and television stations have also stopped broadcasting female voices. The Taliban government assures that Islamic law “guarantees” the rights of Afghans. Read also | Article reserved for our Afghanistan subscribers: “How can we imagine relations with a regime that locks up women? » Read later Le Monde with AFP Reuse this content



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