3 NGOs have partially resumed their activities with female employees in Afghanistan, after receiving guarantees from the Taliban authorities that the women can continue working in the health sector.
On December 24, the Afghan Ministry of Economy announced that Afghan women would be banned from working in non-governmental organizations, due to “serious complaints” related to the lack of respect for wearing the veil, which must cover the body and face.
Immediately, I announced Several non-governmental organizationsThe International Rescue Committee (IRC), Save the Children, and CARE have suspended their activities in the country in protest of this decision.
Previous women’s protests in Afghanistan
However, in recent days, these organizations have resumed providing assistance in the health and food sectors, with the participation of their female employees in a number of regions.
“We have resumed our activities in the health sector with female employees” in 4 regions, said Samira Sayed Rahman, an official in the International Rescue Committee.
“We are continuing discussions with the regional authorities to resume health and food activities in other regions,” the organization added in a statement.
About 1,260 non-governmental organizations operate in the country, according to the Ministry of Economy, and employ thousands of women in key positions, whether in food aid programs or in the fields of health and education.
For its part, “Save the Children” confirmed the resumption of its activities in the health sector.
“We have received clear and reliable assurances from the relevant authorities that our female employees will be safe and able to work without hindrance,” she said in a statement.
“However, given that the general ban remains in place, our other activities, for which we have not received reliable guarantees that our female colleagues can work, remain suspended,” the organization added.
Also, the “CARE” organization confirmed in a statement that it “is resuming its health and food activities in Afghanistan with male and female employees.”
In turn, the spokesman for the Ministry of Economy, Abd al-Rahman Habib, said, on Tuesday, that “non-governmental organizations working in the field of health are working with their female employees… We need them to help children who suffer from nutritional deficiencies and other women who need health services.”
“They all work according to our religious and cultural values,” he added.
Non-governmental organizations provide essential aid to a country where more than half of the 38 million people suffer from acute food insecurity.