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4 NGOs suspend work in Afghanistan after IEA bar women

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Four international aid agencies including Save the Children said on Sunday they were suspending their humanitarian programmes in Afghanistan in response to the Taliban-run administration’s order to stop female employees from working, Reuters reported.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) on Saturday ordered all local and foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) not to let female staff work until further notice. It said the move, which was condemned globally, was justified because some women had not adhered to the IEA’s interpretation of Islamic dress code for women.

Three NGOs – Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council and CARE International – said in a joint statement that they were suspending their programmes as they awaited clarity on the IEA’s order, read the report.

“We cannot effectively reach children, women and men in desperate need in Afghanistan without our female staff,” the statement said, adding that, without women driving the effort, they would not have reached millions of Afghans in need since August last year.

Separately, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) said in a statement that it was suspending its services in the country, citing similar reasons. IRC said it employs more than 8,000 people in Afghanistan, over 3,000 of whom are women.

The suspension of some aid programmes that millions of Afghans access comes at a time when more than half the population relies on humanitarian aid, according to aid agencies, and during the mountainous nation’s coldest season, Reuters reported.

Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council and CARE International also highlighted the effect of the ban on female staff on thousands more jobs in the midst of an economic crisis.

Earlier, international aid agency AfghanAid said it was immediately suspending operations while it consulted with other organisations, and that other NGOs were taking similar actions.

The International Committee of the Red Cross in Afghanistan also on Sunday expressed concern at the move and an earlier bar on women from attending university, warning of “catastrophic humanitarian consequences in the short to long term”.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, hit back at the criticism, saying all institutions wanting to operate in Afghanistan are obliged to comply with the rules of the country.

“We do not allow anyone to talk rubbish or make threats regarding the decisions of our leaders under the title of humanitarian aid,” Mujahid said in a post on Twitter, referring to a statement by the head of US Mission to Afghanistan.

Chargé d’Affaires Karen Decker had taken to Twitter to question how the IEA planned to prevent hunger among women and children following the ban. She pointed out that the United States was the largest humanitarian aid donor to the country.

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Female foreign ministers from 17 countries call on IEA to repeal laws affecting women

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Female foreign ministers from 17 countries have called on the Islamic Emirate to repeal the laws restricting women and girls in Afghanistan.

In a joint statement issued on Saturday, on the situation of women and girls in the country, the group of foreign ministers denounced the Islamic Emirate’s “morality laws”.

“We denounce and call for the repeal of the Taliban’s (IEA) so called ‘Morality Laws’, which have exacerbated existing restrictions for Afghan women and girls,” the statement read.

“These decrees aim literally to silence Afghan women and girls and confine them to their homes. There is no viable future—no long-term peace, prosperity, or legitimacy—for any state that seeks to effectively erase women from public life.”

In reaction, the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice said that Western countries have a double standard on the issue of human rights and are using it as a tool to pressure the Islamic Emirate.

“If such ministry does not exist in an Islamic system or Islamic society, we cannot call it an Islamic system or Islamic society,” Saif-ul-Islam Khaibar, the ministry’s spokesman, said.

“Those who demand the abolition of this ministry are actually acting against Islamic values, religion, nation, and identity of Afghans, which is unacceptable to all. Instead of making allegations against this ministry, they should adhere to human rights in their own laws.”

In their joint statement, the female foreign ministers also said that the Islamic Emirate’s “systematic exclusion of girls from school—including by barring education for girls above sixth grade—deprives millions of women and girls of their right to education.”

“We encourage all countries to advocate for the full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation of Afghan women in discussions on Afghanistan’s future, including in the U.N.-facilitated Doha process,” the statement said.

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IEA officials on way to Japan

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A delegation of senior Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) officials was expected to arrive in Tokyo on Sunday in what is the IEA’s first visit to Japan since they regained power in August 2021.

According to Japanese media, the delegation consists of around six government officials in charge of diplomacy, healthcare, education, cultural properties and other policies.

This visit was in response to an invitation offered by an executive of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation and Tadamichi Yamamoto, former head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), last year.

Reports state that the delegation will likely request more humanitarian support and may also discuss ties between Japan and Afghanistan with Japanese government officials.

Japan continues to maintain diplomatic functions in Afghanistan and has provided support for medical facilities through the United Nations.

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Ministry of Refugees condemns forced evacuation of Afghans in Balochistan, Pakistan

The statement added that among the people deported by the Pakistani police, 65 were children and 30 were Afghan women.

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The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation on Sunday condemned the forced evacuation of Afghan refugees from their homes in Balochistan province, Pakistan.

The Ministry of Refugees’ statement said that on February 15, Pakistani police raided the homes of a number of Afghan refugees in the Quetta and Kuchlak areas of Balochistan province.

The raids took place at night and officials forcibly evicted and mistreated a number of Afghan refugees.

The statement added that among the people deported by the Pakistani police, 65 were children and 30 were Afghan women.

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