By Banafsha Binesh in TOLOnews April 05, 2023 at 11:04 PM
The decision of the interim government to ban Afghan female UN staff in Nangarhar from going to work has sparked strong reactions inside and outside the country.
UNAMA tweeted serious concerns that female national UN staff have been prevented from reporting to work in Nangarhar province.
“We remind de facto authorities that UN entities cannot operate and deliver life-saving assistance without female staff,” UNAMA said.
Former US special envoy for Afghanistan’s reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, said on Twitter the “Taliban’s decision to ban Afghan female staffers from working in UN offices in Afghanistan is wrong.”
“It will likely increase the suffering of the people as it will likely lead to reduced international assistance,” he said. “This decision will necessarily complicate international dealings with the Taliban to the detriment of Afghanistan interests,” Khalilzad tweeted.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Twitter said he strongly condemns the “prohibition of our Afghan female colleagues from working in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province.”
“If this measure is not reversed, it will inevitably undermine our ability to deliver life-saving aid to the people who need it,” he said.
The UN Human Rights Council’s special rapporteur for Afghanistan Richard Bennett said the decision to ban Afghanistan UN staff from “working is another gross violation of their fundamental right to (non-discrimination), is against UN Charter and will seriously impact essential services for Afghans.”
“Women staff are essential,” he said. “I urge Taliban to reverse the decision immediately.”
Analysts and women’s rights defenders said women have the right to work based on Sharia Law.
“A woman has the right to use this right (working) while considering Sharia law and the rules of the society,” said Fazal Hadi Wazin, a member of the world Islamic clerics union.
“It will not only increase the economic and social damage, including the damage to the morale of the women in Afghanistan, but we will also witness the deterioration of relations of the interim government with the international community,” said Marriam Arveen, a women’s rights defender.
https://tolonews.com/index.php/afghanistan-182838
