The UN Secretary-General has called the Taliban’s prevention of women from participating in relief operations, including in provinces such as Kunar, “foolish.” António Guterres said that what the Taliban are doing regarding women’s work in Afghanistan is “not only intolerable but also foolish.”
On 20th September, the United Nations reported that the Taliban had blocked Afghan women aid workers from operating in earthquake-affected areas. The UN stated that this action made it much harder to provide assistance to vulnerable and needy populations in these regions.
During a press conference in New York on Tuesday, in response to a question from Maryam Rahmati, a journalist with Afghanistan International, Guterres said: “What is happening in Afghanistan is not only intolerable, it is completely foolish. Preventing women from participating in humanitarian work for the people of Afghanistan is deeply harmful.”
Guterres emphasized that this criticism of the Taliban is not limited to relief work, but in the current situation, women’s participation in humanitarian operations is critically important.
He stressed that women’s presence in aid work is vital, and without them, access to large segments of the Afghan population is impossible. According to the Secretary-General: “We are doing everything we can, directly and through mobilizing the international community, to make the Taliban understand that women and girls must be allowed to participate in humanitarian activities so that assistance reaches those in need.”
The United Nations has called on the Taliban not to block women from working in earthquake-affected areas.
The Secretary-General has repeatedly criticized the Taliban’s widespread restrictions on women and girls, including bans on education and employment, describing them as serious obstacles to delivering humanitarian services and development in Afghanistan.
The prohibition of women’s education and work in Afghanistan by the Taliban leadership has had profound and devastating consequences for society. These decisions not only deprive millions of girls of education and opportunities for advancement but also reinforce the cycle of poverty and underdevelopment in the country.
Sanctions and isolation of the Taliban have also contributed to increased human casualties in earthquake-affected provinces. Investigations by Afghanistan International and humanitarian organizations indicate that the Taliban’s restrictions on women leaving their homes and preventing aid workers from accessing them have played a role in the increased deaths of women in earthquake-affected areas.
