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Top U.N. officials seek to ‘water down’ bans on women in Afghanistan
The United Nations is pushing the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) administration for more exemptions to its ban on most female aid workers, top U.N. officials said on Wednesday, while also expressing concern that foreign women working for international organizations and embassies could next be targeted.
Speaking to Reuters during a visit to Kabul, U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths said that his message during meetings with Taliban officials had been: “If you can’t help us rescind the ban, give us the exemptions to allow women to operate.”
Last month, the IEA – who seized power in August 2021 – banned most female aid workers and stopped women from attending university after stopping girls from attending high school in March. Griffiths traveled to Afghanistan after a visit last week by U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed.
Griffiths said some exemptions to the female aid worker ban had been granted in health and education and that there were indications there could be a possible exemption in agriculture. But he said much more was needed, with nutrition and water and sanitation services a priority to prevent severe illnesses and malnutrition during a severe humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, Reuters reported.
“We have not seen the history of the Taliban (IEA) reversing any edict. What we have seen is exemptions that, hopefully, if we keep pushing them, they will water down those edicts to a point where we will get women and girls back into school and into the workplace,” Mohammed told reporters in New York on Wednesday.
Griffiths told Reuters that, following his recent discussions with the IEA, he was hopeful they would create a set of written guidelines to allow aid groups to operate with female staff in more areas with certainty in coming weeks.
“The next few weeks are absolutely crucial to see if the humanitarian community … can stay and deliver,” he said, while cautioning: “I don’t want to speculate as to whether we’re going to come out of this in the right place.”
The IEA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its plans over guidelines.
During her visit last week, Mohammed met with the Shura – the leadership council that issues the bans – in the southern Taliban heartland of Kandahar. She said there is a concern that they may next prohibit “international women from international organizations and embassies.”
“It hasn’t happened so far,” said Mohammed, adding that they had been expecting a possible announcement all month. “I don’t say that it won’t, but clearly the pressure that we’re putting on has stopped that rollback as quickly.”
Griffiths said the United Nations would continue operating in Afghanistan wherever it could, but there was a concern that international donors might not want to commit to the huge financial cost of aid at around $4.6 billion a year.
“I lose sleep about this, I really do,” Griffiths said, adding that he would meet with donors in coming weeks to make the case for why Afghanistan needed help during an intense humanitarian crisis in which 28 million people were in need of aid, including 6 million on the brink of famine.
Nooruddin Azizi, Minister of Industry and Commerce of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, met on Thursday with Sadin Ayyıldız, Chargé d’Affaires of the Turkish Embassy in Kabul. During the meeting, Ayyıldız invited the Minister of Industry and Commerce to participate in Turkey’s Antalya Diplomacy Forum.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Industry, the meeting also emphasized the economic, trade, and historical relations between Kabul and Ankara, as well as the export of Afghan goods to Turkey.
The two sides discussed increasing trade volume between the two countries, strengthening economic relations, facilitating and enhancing commercial activities, cooperation in road transport along various routes, activating the Lapis Lazuli Corridor, and regional cooperation.
Azizi, while thanking Turkey for inviting the Islamic Emirate to the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, introduced the Ministry’s technical team to ensure better coordination and planning.
The Antalya Diplomacy Forum is an international conference held annually in Turkey, aimed at examining global challenges and finding joint solutions through dialogue and diplomacy. It hosts representatives from more than 100 countries, including presidents, leaders, high-ranking officials, international organizations, analysts, and media from various countries.
Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, Prime Minister of the Islamic Emirate, in a telephone conversation initiated by Mohammad Anwar Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia, discussed regional developments, particularly the recent situation between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, said in a statement that Hassan Akhund stated during the call that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s principled position is clear and that it believes in resolving issues through mutual understanding and cooperation.
Hassan Akhund added that during Eid al-Fitr, at the request of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar, the Islamic Emirate demonstrated its goodwill by respecting a pause in defensive operations.
He stated that violence benefits no party and that actions that increase tensions should be avoided, emphasizing that wisdom and rationality must guide efforts to resolve problems.
He also expressed concern over rising regional tensions following the US and Israeli attacks on Iran.
The Malaysian Prime Minister also expressed concern about the regional situation and hoped that the temporary halt in hostilities between Afghanistan and Pakistan would continue, and that existing problems could be resolved through sincere negotiations and understanding.
He added that Malaysia aims to play a positive role in facilitating understanding between both parties.
Israel’s defence minister says that an Israeli air strike has killed Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ navy.
The killing was carried out “last night, in a precise and lethal operation” and targeted other “senior officers of the naval command”, said Israel Katz, in a video statement.
“The man who was directly responsible for the terrorist operation of mining and blocking the Strait of Hormuz to shipping was blown up and eliminated,” he claimed.
Since the start of the joint US-Israeli war on Iran on February 28, Israel has announced the assassination of several top Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the Islamic Republic ‘s powerful security chief, Ali Larijani.
Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi, reporting from Tehran, said there was no official Iranian confirmation yet of Tangsiri’s killing.
“But if it’s true it’s going to be another major blow for a country that has already experienced a lot of military commanders being killed” since the war began, he said.
The head of the Basij paramilitary forces, Brigadier General Gholamreza Soleimani, and Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib were also assassinated in Israeli attacks.
Moreover, in recent days, Israeli forces have carried out several strikes targeting the naval assets of Iran.
Last week, Israeli airstrikes hit several Iranian naval ships in the Caspian Sea, including ones equipped with missile systems, support vessels, and patrol craft.
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