The Taliban said it would close all domestic and foreign non-governmental organizations that employ women in Afghanistan.
advertisementThe announcement comes two years after an Islamic extremist group ordered NGOs to stop hiring Afghan women for not properly wearing Islamic headscarves.
In a letter published on the X Sunday night, the Ministry of Economic Affairs warned that if it did not comply with the latest orders, NGO would lose a license for Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Defense said it is responsible for registration, coordination, leadership and supervision of all activities carried out by domestic and foreign agencies.
According to the letter, the government has once again issued an order to stop all female labor in institutions not controlled by the Taliban.
“If cooperation is lacking, all activities of the relevant institution will be cancelled, and the permission for the relevant institution’s activities granted by the ministry will also be cancelled.”
This is the Taliban’s latest attempt to control or intervene in NGO activities.
Earlier this month, the United Nations Security Council heard that a growing number of female Afghan humanitarian workers are unable to do their work, even though relief work remains essential.
The proportion of humanitarian organizations reporting that female or male staff have been stopped by Taliban morality police has also increased, according to Tom Fletcher, a senior UN official.
The Taliban denied that it was stopping or interfering with the activities of aid organizations.
They have already banned women from many jobs and most public places, and excluded them from education beyond the sixth grade.
In another development, Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada ordered that buildings should not have windows that look into places where women could sit or stand.
The order applies to new buildings as well as existing ones, according to a four-point ordinance posted on X late Saturday.
Windows should not overlook or look into areas such as the yard or kitchen. If a window looks into such a space, the person responsible for that building must find a way to obscure this view by installing a wall, fence, or screen to “eliminate the harm.”
Local governments and other authorities must supervise the construction of new buildings to avoid installing windows that look into residential buildings, the decree added.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing was not immediately available for comment on Akhundzada’s directive.
