UN Suspends Operations at Iran-Afghanistan Border Over Taliban Restrictions on Female Staff

UN Suspends Operations at Iran-Afghanistan Border Over Taliban Restrictions on Female Staff
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The United Nations has suspended its humanitarian operations at the Islam Qala border crossing between Iran and Afghanistan after the Taliban imposed new restrictions preventing Afghan women from working for the organization.

According to a report by Agence France-Presse (AFP), the UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator in Afghanistan, Indrika Ratwatte, said on Monday that the Taliban’s measures have created “immediate operational challenges” and “heightened risks for people returning to Afghanistan, particularly women and girls.”

Ratwatte emphasized that without female staff, it is impossible to deliver essential services to women and girls at the border. Islam Qala serves as the main entry point for Afghan returnees deported from Iran, and the UN estimates that over 60 percent of those returning are women.

So far, Taliban authorities have not issued an official response to the UN’s suspension.

The decision follows a series of escalating restrictions by the Taliban: in 2022, they banned Afghan women from working in NGOs, and in 2023, the ban was extended to UN offices.

Ratwatte warned that these policies not only obstruct humanitarian operations but also endanger the safe return of Afghan migrants, especially vulnerable women and girls.

AFP noted that the suspension of UN activities at Islam Qala serves as a serious warning about the deteriorating humanitarian conditions along the Iran-Afghanistan border. UN sources cautioned that the continued enforcement of these restrictions could worsen the migration crisis and place greater pressure on returning families, particularly women facing displacement and insecurity.