World News
‘Islamic dress code not followed’; Taliban does not want women employees in NGOs
Kabul: It is reported that the Taliban government has instructed the NGOs to send the women workers back home. This action comes days after the Taliban government’s controversial order barring girls from universities until further notice.
According to a letter released by the Ministry of Economy in the Taliban government, all local and foreign NGOs have been ordered to prevent women employees from coming to work.
Economy Ministry spokesman Abdulrahman Habib said in the letter that female employees will not be allowed to work until further notice because some do not follow the Taliban regime’s interpretation of women’s Islamic dress code, Al Jazeera reported. The letter also states that the operating licenses of NGOs in Afghanistan that violate the order will be revoked.
It is unclear how the order will affect U.N. agencies working in Afghanistan.
Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN Deputy Special Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan, said, “There is great concern about the reports of this letter, which is a flagrant violation of humanitarian principles.”
A few days ago, the Taliban government issued an order denying the admission of girls to universities in Afghanistan.
Nida Mohammad Nadim, Minister of Higher Education in the Taliban government, responded by justifying the action of denying education to girls by saying that such an order was issued to prevent gender discrimination in universities and that some subjects taught in universities violate the principles of Islam and therefore the ban will remain until further notice.
In response to the ban on education, women in Afghanistan have come forward to protest.
Muslim majority countries like Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar and various human rights organizations have reacted against the action of the Taliban government.
Earlier, girls were denied admission to secondary schools in Afghanistan. According to the new procedure, girls currently studying in universities will also be excluded.
The higher education minister himself issued an order banning girls in universities. The Taliban has announced that the ban will take effect immediately and will continue until further notice.
‘Women’s education is being stopped. This should be implemented immediately. This will continue until a new order is issued,’ Nida Mohammad said in the order issued by Nadim. This order applies to all public and private universities in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, even as the process of denying education to girls continues, the report that the daughters of Taliban leaders are studying abroad also came out the other day. More than two dozen Taliban leaders’ daughters attend schools in Doha, Peshawar and Karachi.
The children of Afghanistan’s Health Minister Qalandar Ibad, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, and Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen are getting higher education from foreign countries.
Content Highlight: Taliban orders NGOs to to stop women workers from coming to work and send back them home