RASC: Following the continuation of restrictions on women’s work and activities by the Taliban group, the Directorate of Refugee Affairs and Returnees of the Taliban group accused the International Organization for Migration of ignoring their order in Kandahar and informed all female aid workers “till the second notice stay at home.”
The decree of this directorate states that IOM, NRC, UNICEF, HRDA, DRC institutions will no longer allow female employees to work until further notice.
In this newsletter of the ministry, it is emphasized that “based on the order of the leader of the Taliban group, all female employees should stay at home and should not attend their duties, while some institutions ignored the order of the leader of the Taliban group and returned to work.”
In the continuation of this newsletter, it is said that all the female employees of the institutions will stay at home until death and they do not have the right to attend their duties.
It should be mentioned that before this, Jan Agland, the secretary of the Norwegian Refugee Council, during his visit to Kandahar province, while expressing his concern about the existing human rights situation in Afghanistan, announced that female employees in this institution and some other institutions are allowed to work in Kandahar.
It should be mentioned that the Norwegian Refugee Organization stopped all its activities in Afghanistan following the issuance of an order banning female employees, but shortly after that, it resumed its activities in Afghanistan without the presence of female employees.
However, global reactions regarding the ban and exclusion of women in Afghanistan have become more intense after the United Nations Security Council meeting on Afghanistan.
In addition, Roza Otenbayeva, the United Nations Special Representative for Afghanistan, emphasized in the meeting of the United Nations Security Council “the restrictions imposed by the Taliban on the work and education of women and girls in Afghanistan almost destroys any possibility of recognizing the Taliban group.”
The Norwegian Refugee Council has not yet responded to this order.
It should be mentioned that the Taliban group had announced this before making the principles and bill regarding the activities of female employees in non-governmental institutions.
