Ms. Sayed Rahman, as of this week, women in Afghanistan are no longer allowed to work for non-governmental organizations.

The latest decree from the Taliban government also affects the International Rescue Committee (IRC) for which you work.

How do you deal with that?

France Wittenbrink

Editor in Politics.

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The last few days here in Kabul have been very stressful for us.

After long discussions we have come to the conclusion to stop our work for the time being.

This decision is based on the one hand on the principles that apply to humanitarian aid and on the other hand on purely practical considerations.

What we do as an aid organization is not possible without our female employees.

Can you explain that?

We are dealing with a very conservative society here in Afghanistan, not least because of the rules that the Taliban set themselves.

A woman who is home alone would never open the door for a man.

This is true even in most urban areas.

Without female employees, we would simply no longer be able to reach half of the population - namely women and girls - with our aid.

At the same time, there is a risk that the situation in the country will deteriorate further if aid organizations such as the IRC withdraw.

How did you discuss this internally?

The decision to stop our work in the midst of such a crisis was anything but easy.

28 million people in Afghanistan are in urgent need of humanitarian aid at the moment, and the country's economy is on the rocks.

Last year we were able to prevent a famine through the use of aid organizations.

But the next winter is just around the corner - and it's going to be very cold in this country.

Many people here have to choose between heating and eating.

The work of non-governmental organizations is therefore more necessary than ever.

But the new law ties our hands.

The new regulation is a hard cut not only for the people who are dependent on aid, but also for your female employees themselves.

How did you react?

You are devastated.

NGOs and aid organizations have become the main employers in Afghanistan in recent years.

In our organization alone, 3,000 of the 8,000 employees in the country are women.

Many of them are the family's sole breadwinners.

If the Taliban stick to their decision, it would also plunge a large proportion of our own personnel into an economic crisis.

Do you think it is possible that the situation will change?

We are currently holding intensive talks with the government.

Representatives of the United Nations are sitting at the table, and I have also had personal meetings.

I cannot comment on the specific content during the negotiations.

But for now, I'm confident that we can find a way to continue working together and get women back to work.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs has shown itself to be very open in this regard and has assured that it is working on a quick solution.

The international community has reacted with outrage to recent developments in Afghanistan.

German Development Minister Svenja Schulze, for example, has questioned the country's financial aid.

Do you think the Taliban will be impressed by this?

It's important to position yourself, the pressure from outside has weight.

The Taliban know very well how dependent the country is on humanitarian aid from abroad, and they shouldn't ignore that.

Ultimately, however, Afghan problems need Afghan solutions.

That has been shown clearly in the past.

What do you mean by that?

Many decisions taken by the international community over the past year have done more harm than good to the Afghan people.

Sanctions or cuts in funding have only worsened the humanitarian and economic situation.

It is the population that suffers - those who were supposed to be affected by the measures remain unharmed.

In order to really help Afghan women, it is important that the international community takes a unified position based on clear principles.

Above all, however, it is important to involve and focus on the Afghan people themselves.

The Taliban had initially promised to govern more moderately than in the years 1996 to 2001. What is left of that?

If we look at the current development: little.

After all, it took the Taliban five years during their first rule to enact comparably drastic laws.

Now, things have been moving very quickly in a very worrying direction.

Nobody knows what will happen next.

But people are nervous.