Today: 22 June 2025
6 April 2023
2 mins read

Taliban ban on female Afghan UN staff draws criticism

UN Women joined UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in calling on the Taliban to immediately revoke this latest decision…reports Asian Lite News

A top UN official has condemned the Taliban’s decision to ban Afghan women from working with the world body in Afghanistan.

“We stand in full solidarity with our colleagues, and all women who every day put their lives at risk to serve their country and we salute their dedication, professionalism, and bravery. We re-assert their inalienable, fundamental human rights as enshrined in the UN Charter,” Sima Bahous, UN Undersecretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women, said in a statement.

“We will not replace our female workforce with men,” she said, adding that UN Women is determined to continue in every way possible to deliver vital services and support, so no woman or girl will be left out or left behind, Xinhua news agency reported.

Afghanistan is in a humanitarian crisis with 28.3 million people, two-thirds of the population, needing humanitarian assistance to survive. Nearly a quarter of households in Afghanistan are female-headed, she noted.

The removal of skilled women aid workers decreases access by women and girls to critical life-saving services, and increases their risks when they have to seek assistance from men instead, said Bahous.

The de-facto authorities’ denial of women’s and girls’ rights to education and to engagement in society and the economy of Afghanistan is a self-inflicted wound on the country. This damage to future recovery and resilience deepens with every woman and girl whose horizons have been forcibly shrunk to her home’s four walls, she added.

UN Women joins UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in calling on the Taliban to immediately revoke this latest decision and reverse all measures that restrict women’s and girls’ rights to work, education and freedom of movement, she said.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said on Wednesday that the world body is instructing all its Afghan national staff — men and women — not to report to the office for now. In addition, UN national female staff in Afghanistan will not see their posts to be backfilled by men.

Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN Secretary-General’s deputy special representative for Afghanistan, said the Afghan UN national staff — Afghan men and women — are in solidarity.

“We will not have a situation where we are going to work with all-men teams. So our national staff will report to the office together,” he told a press briefing at UN Headquarters in New York through a video link.

Alakbarov said the United Nations is working to create the normal conditions so that the Afghan UN national staff could return to work. He said everybody will be paid even when they have to stay home.

The United Nations has about 3,900 staff in Afghanistan, nearly 3,300 of them are nationals. Of those, there are about 400 women nationals and 200 women internationals.

ALSO READ: Taliban urge global community to engage with them

Previous Story

PAKISTAN: Economic Misery Creates Fertile Breeding Ground For Terrorism

Next Story

‘Diplomatic blow’ to China as India elected to UN statistical body

Latest from -Top News

US committed great crime: Iran

Iran has now called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council and demanded the IAEA Board of Governors address the situation….reports Asian Lite News Iran has strongly condemned the United

Strike Iran, Face Us, Houthis warn US

The Yemen-based Houthi group, which controls much of northern Yemen, has been targeting Israel since November 2023…reports Asian Lite News Yemen’s Houthi group issued a stark warning on Sunday, declaring they would

Tehran Hits Back After US Strikes

The missiles struck several locations across central Israel. Notably, one hit Haifa without any prior warning sirens, raising alarm over possible gaps in the missile alert system….reports Asian Lite News Iran fired

Trump Dares Iran Again

This comes as Trump announced that America had bombed three nuclear sites in Iran and warned Tehran of further precision strikes…reports Asian Lite News US President Donald Trump declared that no other
Go toTop

Don't Miss

Will India continue to wait and watch on Afghanistan?

As a neighbour with historical people-to-people contacts, India cannot remain

15 killed in Afghanistan as Taliban announces ceasefire

Taliban fighters are prohibited from visiting government-controlled areas or giving