Aid groups say they have been “pushed against a wall” by the Taliban prohibiting Afghan women from working for NGOs, a ban that has left a dangerous gap in life-saving support.
Afghanistan’s NGOs have been instrumental in trying to address one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with half the country’s population hungry and three million children at risk of malnutrition.
“It is impossible for us to continue our activities in the country if we don’t have women as part of our organisations at all levels,” Samira Sayed-Rahman, a senior official at International Rescue Committee (IRC), told AFP.
Read more: Several foreign NGOs stop work in Afghanistan after Taliban ban on women staff
Some 1,260 NGOs operate across Afghanistan, with thousands of women workers providing services in healthcare, education, water and sanitation.
The IRC is one of several NGOs — along with CARE and Save the Children — that have suspended operations while they urge the Taliban to revoke the ban.
The discriminatory Taliban policy will see thousands of women lose their jobs and many more cut out of aid loops, workers say.
“The Taliban have pushed us against a wall,” said a senior official at a foreign NGO, who asked not to be identified.
“They tell us, ‘If you choose to leave instead of obeying our rules, then the (humanitarian) situation will only worsen’.”
The ban was one of two crushing orders released in rapid succession last month: just days earlier, Taliban authorities banned women from university education.
It was the culmination of a slew of drip-fed restrictions on women’s lives.
Read more: Afghan academic vows to fight Taliban
– Women-to-women aid –
In deeply conservative and patriarchal Afghan society, it is widely considered inappropriate for a woman to speak to a man who is not a close relative.
Women are therefore vital for on-the-ground aid operations, particularly in identifying other women in need, said Reshma Azmi, deputy country head for CARE in Afghanistan.
“A female beneficiary also feels more comfortable talking to a female aid worker… that’s why it’s not possible without women staff,” Azmi told AFP.
CARE provided aid to about half a million women and children in 2022, including offering classes for girls run by women teachers.