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.”