Foreign aid groups halt work after Taliban bans on female staff

Five top non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have halted work in Afghanistan after women were banned from working for them by the Taliban government.

Care International, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and Save the Children said they could not continue their work “without our female staff”.

The International Rescue Committee also suspended services while Islamic Relief said it was stopping most of its work.

Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban have threatened to cancel the licence of any organisation that did not swiftly comply with the ban.

A number of aid groups have since spoken out, demanding that women should be allowed to continue working for them.

The leaders of Care, the NRC and Save the Children said in a joint statement the organisations “would not have jointly reached millions of Afghans in need since August 2021” were it not for their female staff.

“Whilst we gain clarity on this announcement, we are suspending our programmes, demanding that men and women can equally continue our lifesaving assistance in Afghanistan,” their statement added.

Since seizing back control of the country last year, the Taliban have steadily restricted women’s rights – despite promising its rule would be softer than the regime seen in the 1990s.