Kabul: All domestic and international NGOs in Afghanistan were asked on Saturday to stop hiring women, according to the Taliban government, which claimed some female workers were not wearing the Islamic headscarf properly. Separately, he forbade women from attending religious classes at mosques in the country's capital Kabul.
The restrictions, which come days after the Taliban forbade female students from attending universities across the country, are the latest of restrictions imposed by Afghanistan's new rulers against women's rights and freedoms.
Since the ban came into force, Afghan women have protested in major cities - a rare example of domestic unrest since the Taliban took power last year. This decision has also spread anger at the global level.
Also Read: COVID is causing chaos in Chinese towns, with overcrowded ICUs and crematoriums.
The NGO order was issued in a letter from Afghanistan's Minister of Economy, Qari Deen Mohammad Hanif, who also threatened to revoke the operating license of any organization that disobeyed the order. Ministry spokesman Abdul Rahman Habib confirmed the contents of the letter to The Associated Press.
According to the ministry, it was informed of "serious complaints" about female employees of NGOs who were not wearing the "correct" headscarf, or hijab. It was not immediately clear whether the directive applied to all women or just Afghan women who work for the NGO.
There were questions about whether the Taliban's most recent action was a prelude to a general ban on Afghan women leaving their homes, so more details were not immediately available.
Maleeha Niazai, a master trainer at an NGO that educates youth about issues such as gender-based violence, described the news as "heartbreaking". "Aren't we all just human? Why are they abusing us like this?
The 25-year-old Kabul resident, who works for Y-Peer Afghanistan and supports her family alone, said her job was important because it allowed her to serve her country.
"After this announcement, will the authorities still be on our side? If not, why are they stealing our food from our mouths," she questioned. A 24-year-old employee of the Norwegian Refugee Council, Jalalabad, described it this way Did "the worst moment of my life."
"The job provides me with more than just a means of subsistence; it is symbolic of all the sacrifices I have made," she said, but she did not reveal her name for her safety.
The NGO order was condemned by the United Nations, which also announced that it would attempt to meet with the Taliban leadership to clarify matters.
A UN statement said that "the removal of women's autonomy from their own work, unemployment, and systematic exclusion from all spheres of public and political life hold the country back, a threat to any meaningful peace or stability in the country." jeopardizes efforts."
Fazil Mohammad Hussaini, a spokesman for the Hajj and Religious Affairs Ministry, said in a separate order late Saturday that "adult girls" are prohibited from attending Islamic classes in Kabul's mosques, though they can still attend independent madrassas or religious schools. Can attend schools.
He did not provide any additional information or elaborate on the ages covered by the ban or how it would be implemented. Additionally, it was not explained why the rule only applied to mosques in Kabul.
Also Read: Bethlehem recovers from the pandemic, cheering up Christmas time
Earlier on Saturday, eyewitnesses said Taliban security forces used water cannons to disperse women in the western city of Herat who were protesting against a ban on women attending universities.
Witnesses claim that about 20 women were on their way to the Herat provincial governor's residence on Saturday to protest the ban, many of them chanting "education is our right", when they were dispersed by security personnel using water cannons. drove away
In video provided to the AP, women could be seen screaming and running to a side street to avoid the water cannon. They then start shouting "Outrageous!" As they protest once again.
According to Maryam, one of the protest organisers, 100 to 150 women, who came from different parts of the city and in small groups gathered at the focal point of the protest. She hid her last name out of concern for negative repercussions.
He claimed that armored vehicles, armed men and security personnel were present in every square and street. "The Taliban beat us when we started our protest in Tariki Park by taking branches from trees. But we stuck to our objection. They increased their security. They brought out water cannons around 11 am."
Only four or five protesters, according to Hamidullah Mutawakil, spokesman for the provincial governor.
He said, failing to mention the misbehavior with women or the use of water cannons, "They had no agenda, they just came here to make a film.
The university ban has received widespread international condemnation, including from Muslim-majority nations like Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.
The United States and the G-7 group of major industrial nations have also issued warnings that the policy will have repercussions for the Taliban.
Nida Mohammad Nadim, Minister of Higher Education for the Taliban, made the first mention of the ban on Thursday in an interview with Afghan state television.
He claimed that the ban was necessary to stop the mixing of the sexes in universities and because he thought some of the subjects being taught went against Islamic principles. The ban would be in effect until further notice, he added.
Since taking control in August 2021, the Taliban have widely implemented their interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, despite initially promising a more moderate government that would respect the rights of women and minorities.
They have prohibited girls from attending universities as well as middle and high schools, as well as the majority of occupations. In addition, women have been told to cover up from head to toe in public and prohibited from using parks and gyms.
Also Read: Kurds and anti-racism organisations gather following the deadly Paris shooting
Despite remaining largely traditional, Afghan society has become more open to girls' and women's education over the past two decades of a U.S.-backed government.
Dozens of Afghan refugee students protested against the ban on female higher education in their country on Saturday in Quetta, Pakistan, and demanded that campuses for women be opened up right away.
One of them, Bibi Haseena, read a poem that described the bleak circumstances facing Afghan girls who want to pursue an education. She expressed regret over receiving her diploma from a foreign country while hundreds of thousands of her Afghan sisters were denied an education.