Europe 1 with AFP 4:11 p.m., December 25, 2022

After NGOs were banned from working with women, three foreign organizations suspended their activities in Afghanistan on Sunday.

They have announced the suspension of their activities until the ban announcement made on Saturday by the Taliban is "clarified".

An immediate reaction.

Three foreign organizations suspended their activities in Afghanistan on Sunday after NGOs were banned from working with women, a senior UN official warning that it will be "very difficult" to continue humanitarian aid "if the Taliban maintain their position. In a joint statement, Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council and CARE International announced the suspension of their activities until the ban announcement made on Saturday by the Taliban is "clarified".

"We are suspending our programs, demanding that men and women can continue in the same way our help to save lives in Afghanistan", explained the three associations at the end of a meeting bringing together senior UN officials. and dozens of NGOs.

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"Serious Complaints"

The Afghan Ministry of Economy on Saturday ordered all non-governmental organizations to stop working with women or risk having their operating license suspended.

It was not clarified whether the directive concerned foreign female staff of NGOs.

In the letter sent to local and international NGOs, the ministry explains that it took this decision after receiving "serious complaints" that the women working there did not respect the wearing of the "Islamic hijab".

In Afghanistan, women are forced to cover their faces and their entire bodies. 

"If they (the Taliban authorities) are not able to reverse this decision and find a solution to this problem, it will be very difficult to continue and provide humanitarian assistance in an independent and fair way, because the participation of the women is very important," UN humanitarian coordinator for Afghanistan Ramiz Alakbarov told AFP.

"We don't want to immediately suspend aid because it would harm the Afghan people," he said, citing a "devastating" impact on the country's already battered economy.

"It was a five billion dollar saving and it's down to three," he said.

"We will discuss this issue with the authorities. We will insist that this change," added Ramiz Alakbarov.

An urgent need for humanitarian assistance

According to the United Nations and aid agencies, more than half of the country's 38 million people need humanitarian assistance during the harsh winter.

Dozens of organizations work in remote areas of Afghanistan and many of their employees are women.

"The ban is going to impact all aspects of humanitarian work, as female employees hold key positions in projects targeting the country's vulnerable female population," a senior official from a law firm told AFP on Sunday. foreign NGO.

"This latest egregious rollback on the rights of girls and women will have far-reaching consequences for the delivery of health, nutrition and education services to children," tweeted UNICEF Regional Director George Laryea-Adjei.

"There are fifteen of us in my family and I am the only support, if I lose my job, my family will starve," testified Shabana, 24, an NGO worker in Kabul.

"As you celebrate the arrival of the new year, Afghanistan has become hell for women," she added.

shattered dreams

Not wishing to give her name for fear of reprisals from the Taliban, another 27-year-old Afghan, who was to start working Sunday in an international NGO, saw her "dreams fly away".

"The hard work that I had provided in recent years in the field of education was shattered," she testified to AFP.

"But we are brave enough not to accept the bans, and to fight for our rights. It may take time, but if we believe in ourselves, we will come back stronger than ever", declared, combative, the young woman .

The noose around women has tightened in recent months.

The Taliban, who returned to power in August 2021, prohibited them, less than a week ago, from attending public and private universities, for the same reasons of dress code not being respected.

They had already excluded them from secondary schools.

They are further barred from many public jobs, cannot travel without a male relative, and have been ordered to cover themselves outside the home, ideally with a burqa.

They are also not allowed to enter the parks.