Afghanistan: women employed by Kabul municipality are sent home
Afghan women march to claim their rights under the Taliban during a protest near the former Ministry of Women's Affairs building in Kabul on September 19, 2021. AP
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3 min
The Taliban have been in power for more than a month and the list of restrictive laws against women is growing every day.
On Sunday, the acting mayor of Kabul gave details of women's work at a press conference.
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Molavi Hamdullah Nomani is a member of the Taliban and serves as the mayor of Kabul.
Suit jacket, wearing a turban, he explains to the press that of the 3,000 municipal employees, nearly a third are women.
And since the Taliban came to power, they must stay at home, until further notice.
Only female employees who cannot be replaced by their male counterparts can go to work, according to the new mayor. “
For example, the women who work in the women's toilets in the city where the men cannot go,” he
explains.
In the districts and in the central office, there are women for whom we do not have a male cadre equivalent to their positions, in the electricity sector as well as in the construction sector, they can work. But for positions that men can fill, we have told women to stay home until things normalize. Their salaries will be paid.
"
Despite their promises to be more tolerant and inclusive, the Taliban in power for a month have been stepping up actions that undermine women's rights.
Already in the 90s, they had denied them access to school and the job market.
Unesco calls for girls to return to schools
The announcements were made as
women demonstrated
again this Sunday in Kabul to demand rights they are deprived of as new decrees are issued.
In particular, the authorities have banned young secondary school girls from returning to school for the time being. Only middle and high school students were allowed to go back to school on Saturday. A decision denounced by the United Nations agency for education and culture (Unesco), which called for the reopening of schools for girls, warning of “
irreversible consequences
” for half of the country's population .
"
If this ban were to be maintained, it would constitute a major violation of the fundamental right to education for girls and women,
" Unesco warned in a statement.
It
is
“
equally important that all female teachers are allowed to return to school to teach, thus providing a safe and inclusive learning environment
,” added UNESCO Director Audrey Azoulay.
►
To read also: Afghanistan: the Taliban will let women study, but separated from men
Ten days after the reopening of the country's private universities, the Afghan Ministry of Education announced on Friday that “
all male teachers and students
” of secondary school were to return to their establishments, without making any mention of teachers or college girls.
►
To read also: Afghan women express their fears and concerns about the Taliban
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Afghanistan
Womens rights
Taliban
Employment and Work
Education