The Taliban say they will close all national and foreign nongovernmental groups in Afghanistan employing women, the latest crackdown on women\u2019s rights since they took power in August 2021. <\/p>\n
The announcement comes two years after they told NGOs to suspend the employment of Afghan women, allegedly because they didn\u2019t wear the Islamic headscarf correctly. <\/p>\n
In a letter published on X Sunday night, the Economy Ministry warned that failure to comply with the latest order would lead to NGOs losing their license to operate in Afghanistan. <\/p>\n
The United Nations said the space for women in Afghanistan has shrunk dramatically in the last two years and reiterated its call for the Taliban to reverse the restrictions. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis really impacts how we can provide life saving humanitarian assistance to all the people in Afghanistan,\u201d UN associate spokesperson Florencia Soto Nino-Martinez said. \u201cAnd obviously we are very concerned by the fact that we are talking about a country where half the population\u2019s rights are being denied and are living in poverty, and many of them, not just women, are facing a humanitarian crisis.\u201d <\/p>\n
The Economy Ministry said it was responsible for the registration, coordination, leadership and supervision of all activities carried out by national and foreign organizations. <\/p>\n
The government was once again ordering the stoppage of all female work in institutions not controlled by the Taliban, according to the letter. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn case of lack of cooperation, all activities of that institution will be canceled and the activity license of that institution, granted by the ministry, will also be canceled.\u201d <\/p>\n
It\u2019s the Taliban\u2019s latest attempt to control or intervene in NGO activity. <\/p>\n
Earlier this month, the UN Security Council heard that an increasing proportion of female Afghan humanitarian workers were prevented from doing their work even though relief work remains essential. <\/p>\n
According to Tom Fletcher, a senior UN official, the proportion of humanitarian organizations reporting that their female or male staff were stopped by the Taliban\u2019s morality police has also increased. <\/p>\n
The Taliban deny they are stopping aid agencies from carrying out their work or interfering with their activities. <\/p>\n
They have already barred women from many jobs and most public spaces, and also excluded them from education beyond sixth grade. <\/p>\n
In another development, the Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has ordered that buildings should not have windows looking into places where a woman might sit or stand. <\/p>\n
According to a four-clause decree posted on X late Saturday, the order applies to new buildings as well as existing ones. <\/p>\n
The United Nations also called for a reversal of this restriction, Soto Nino-Martinez said. <\/p>\n
The decree said windows should not overlook or look into areas like yards or kitchens. Where a window looks into such a space then the person responsible for that property must find a way to obscure this view to \u201cremove harm,\u201d by installing a wall, fence or screen. <\/p>\n
Municipalities and other authorities must supervise the construction of new buildings to avoid installing windows that look into or over residential properties, the decree added. <\/p>\n
A spokesman for the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing was not immediately available for comment on Akhundzada\u2019s instructions. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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