By Nizamuddin Rezahi in The Khaama Press Online, May 16, 2023
International media has reported the United Nations agencies including UNICEF, World Health Organization and WFP have failed to protect the rights of their female Afghan employees under the Taliban administration in Afghanistan.
The London-based news agency Tortoise Media has recently highlighted in one of its reports titled “UN betrays women in Afghanistan” that the organization does not protect its Afghan female employees against gender apartheid and has completely given up on the rights of Afghan women.
Furthermore, Tortoise states that UN agencies including UNICEF, World Food Program and World Health Organization have bowed to Taliban pressure, and continue operating by abiding by the group’s gender-based policies, which restrict Afghan women to work for the UN agencies in Afghanistan.
The gender-based restrictions apply only to Afghan women employees, whereas, hundreds of foreign female staff are currently employed at UN agencies across Afghanistan.
“I feel the UN did not only betray its female employees, but the whole Afghan women with this decision,” said a local UN employee, reported by Tortoise.
According to Tortoise, the Taliban group has infiltrated the UN in Afghanistan – adding the organization either knowingly or unknowingly hires Taliban officials at its agencies and complexes.
Meanwhile, there has been a lot of criticism of the UN mission in Afghanistan. Several members of the US House of Representatives said the organization’s lack of a strong stance on gender-based restrictions on women violates the UN General Charter, the New York Times quoted.
With the ban in place, Afghan women and girls have been completely erased from public life, with no prospect, optimism or chance to benefit from their basic rights under the ruling regime in Afghanistan.
https://www.khaama.com/un-gives-up-on-womens-rights-in-afghanistan/
