US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said women were “central to humanitarian operations around the world” and that the ban would be “devastating” to Afghans as it would “disrupt vital and life-saving assistance to millions”.
The order also threatens key livelihoods of women NGO staff, a woman working for an Afghan organisation told AFP.
“What will those women who have no men to support their families and are working in such NGOs do?” she said, asking not to reveal her name.
“It’s only that salary that had prevented us from falling into poverty.”
The order was a “clear breach of humanitarian principles”, said Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN chief’s deputy special representative for Afghanistan.
The European Union – a major funder of aid organisations working in Afghanistan – condemned the decision and said it was assessing “the impact it will have on our aid on the ground”, Nabila Massrali, the EU foreign policy chief’s spokeswoman, told AFP.
Rights group Amnesty International tweeted the ban was a “deplorable attempt to erase women from the political, social and economic spaces” in Afghanistan.
MOUNTING RESTRICTIONS
The order is the latest assault on women’s rights in the country, an issue the international community has made a sticking point in negotiations over aid and recognition of the Taliban regime.
On Tuesday, the authorities banned all women from attending universities, triggering widespread censure.
The Group of Seven industrialised democracies said the prohibition may amount to “a crime against humanity”.
In response to the order, around 400 male students on Saturday boycotted an exam in the southern city of Kandahar – the de facto power centre of the Taliban – a rare protest staged by men, which was dispersed by members of the hardline Islamist group.
The Taliban had already barred teenage girls from secondary school, and women have been pushed out of many government jobs, prevented from travelling without a male relative and ordered to cover up outside of the home, ideally with a burqa.
They are also not allowed to enter parks or gardens.
The Taliban have also resumed public floggings of men and women in recent weeks, widening their implementation of an extreme interpretation of Islamic law.
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