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Many women cut off from aid following IEA ban on female NGO workers: Save the Children
Almost two months since the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) issued a decree banning Afghan women from working for non-government organizations (NGOs), many women and children are missing out on life-saving aid during the most severe winter in more than a decade and worst hunger crisis in Afghanistan on record, Save the Children said on Wednesday.
Save the Children said that it paused activities in the wake of the ban because female staff are essential for the safe and effective delivery of services and are crucial for reaching women and girls. In addition, almost half of Save the Children’s workforce in Afghanistan are women.
Although some activities have restarted where assurances have been received from the IEA authorities for female staff to safely resume work, mainly in health and education, more than 50% of Save the Children’s operations are still on hold, including essential cash distributions that help families meet basic needs, water, sanitation and hygiene activities and child protection services.
“The scale and severity of the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Almost 20 million children and adults are facing extreme hunger. Many families now only survive on bread and water for weeks at a time,” said David Wright, Save the Children’s Chief Operating Officer.
“Children are struggling to survive a freezing, miserable winter. Some are dying as temperatures plummet well below -20 degrees Celsius. Heating homes is out of the question for ordinary families and parents cannot even afford blankets or warm winter clothes,” he added.
He called on the IEA to completely reverse the ban and allow NGOs to fully resume activities with female and male staff.
“We also call on all humanitarian agencies in Afghanistan to ensure all activities are conducted with female and male teams, and urge donor countries to refrain from any commitments to reduce or freeze much needed flexible funding for Afghanistan,” Wright said. “This is not the time for the international community, and donor governments in particular, to turn their backs on Afghanistan.”
Tajik authorities say their border guards clashed with militants who crossed into Tajikistan’s Khatlon region from Afghanistan on Tuesday night.
Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security said in a statement that militants intended to carry out an armed attack on one of the border outposts.
Three militants were killed and two Tajik soldiers died in the clash. From the scene, three firearms—an M-16 rifle and a Kalashnikov assault rifle—three foreign-made pistols equipped with suppressors, ten hand grenades, one night-vision device, explosives, and other military equipment were seized, according to the committee.
This was the third reported attack from Afghanistan into Tajikistan in the past month, with the previous ones targeting Chinese nationals.
The Islamic Emirate previously said it assured Tajikistan it was ready to tighten border security and conduct joint investigations.
Business
Afghanistan’s first aluminum can factory launched in Herat with $120 million investment
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, laid the foundation stone of the “Pamir” aluminum can production company at the industrial parks of Herat on Thursday.
Afghanistan’s first aluminum can manufacturing plant was officially launched on Thursday in Herat province, marking a significant step toward industrial development and economic self-reliance.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, laid the foundation stone of the “Pamir” aluminum can production company at the industrial parks of Herat on Thursday.
According to officials, the Pamir factory is the first of its kind in Afghanistan and is being established with an investment of $120 million. The project will be built on 16 jeribs of land within Herat’s industrial zones.
Once completed, the factory is expected to create employment opportunities for around 1,700 Afghan citizens. Officials say the project will play a key role in boosting domestic production, reducing reliance on imports, and strengthening the national economy.
Authorities described the launch of the project as a clear sign of growing investment in the industrial sector and ongoing efforts to promote economic self-sufficiency in the country.
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Medvedev: IEA posed less threat to Russia than western-backed groups
He added that such organisations have consistently pursued one objective: “to break apart the multiethnic people of Russia.”
Russia’s Deputy Chairman of the Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, has said that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) caused less harm to Russia than Western-backed civic organisations that, he claims, sought to undermine the country’s unity.
In an article published in the Russian journal Rodina, Medvedev wrote that while the IEA had long been designated as a terrorist organisation, its actions did not inflict the same level of damage on Russia as what he described as Western-supported institutions operating under the banner of academic or humanitarian work.
“Let us be honest: the Taliban (IEA) movement, long listed as a terrorist organisation, has caused modern Russia far less damage than all those pseudo-scientific institutions whose aim is to dismantle our country under the guise of aiding the oppressed,” Medvedev stated.
He added that such organisations have consistently pursued one objective: “to break apart the multiethnic people of Russia.”
Medvedev’s remarks come amid a shift in Russia’s official stance toward Afghanistan. In April, Russia’s Supreme Court suspended the ban on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which had previously been included on the country’s list of terrorist organisations.
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