Tue Dec 31 17:47:29 UTC 2024: ## UN Condemns Taliban Ban on Afghan Women Working for NGOs
**Geneva, December 31, 2024** – The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, has strongly condemned the Taliban’s ban on Afghan women working for non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The ban, implemented through a decree revoking the licenses of NGOs employing women, is a deeply concerning escalation of the Taliban’s restrictions on women’s rights.
Turk stated that this action is “absolutely the wrong path” and will severely hinder the delivery of crucial humanitarian aid to the Afghan population, over half of whom live in poverty. NGOs play a vital role in providing life-saving assistance, and the ban will directly impact the ability of both men and women to receive this aid.
The UN has repeatedly denounced the Taliban’s policies as constituting gender apartheid. Since the Taliban regained power in August 2021, women have been systematically excluded from public life, with bans on post-primary education, restricted employment, and limited access to public spaces. Recent restrictions even prohibit women from singing or reciting poetry in public.
Turk urged the Taliban to revoke the decree and all other measures that limit women’s access to education, work, healthcare, and freedom of movement. He emphasized that no country can progress while excluding half its population from public life and called for a reversal of these discriminatory policies for the future of Afghanistan. The statement concluded by reiterating the severity of the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and the vital role of NGOs in alleviating suffering.
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