The United Nations spokesperson has said that the Taliban have issued an order to ban Afghanistan female employees working for the international body from working throughout the country.
Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric noted that it this was the latest “disturbing trend” which is frustrating the ability of aid organisations more than half of the population — over 23 million people in Afghanistan need help.
The United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres has called such order banning women from working for the United Nations as “Unacceptable and, frankly, inconceivable”.
According to Reuters, two UN sources revealed that the order by the Taliban was what prompted the United Nations to give 48 hours office leave for their staff.
“We’re still looking into how this development would affect our operations in the country and we are expecting to have more meetings with the de facto authorities tomorrow in Kabul. We’re trying to seek some clarity,” Dujarric said. “We do not have anything in writing as of now.”
According to Al Jazeera, the United Nations Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) expressed concern that female staff in the eastern province of Nangarhar had been stopped from reporting to work earlier on Tuesday.