Geneva: The UN rights chief insisted on Tuesday that the Taliban must immediately end their policies in Afghanistan that target women and girls, denouncing their "terrible" repercussions.

Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement that "no country can develop—indeed, survive—socially and economically with half its population excluded."

In addition to making everyone in Afghanistan suffer more, these unfathomable restrictions on women and girls, in my opinion, pose a danger outside of Afghanistan's borders.

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According to him, the policies ran the risk of polarising Afghan society.

Turk urged the de facto authorities to "ensure the respect and protection of all women and girls' rights, including their right to be seen, heard, and to participate in and contribute to all aspects of the social, political, and economic life of the country."

The hardline leaders of Afghanistan outlawed women's employment in nongovernmental organisations on Saturday. Both secondary schooling for girls and higher education for women have already been put on hold by the Taliban.

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The most recent decree issued by the de facto authorities will have terrible effects on women and the entire Afghan population, according to Turk.

The right of women to make a positive contribution to their country's development and the welfare of their fellow citizens will be violated if they are prohibited from working for NGOs.

The action is the most recent setback for Afghan women's rights since the Taliban reclaimed power last year.

Turk claimed that the ban would severely limit, if not completely eliminate, these NGOs' ability to provide vital services, which made it all the more distressing given that Afghanistan is currently experiencing a severe winter, which is a time when humanitarian needs are at an all-time high.

On Sunday, a number of international aid organisations made the decision to halt their work in Afghanistan.

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In addition, women have been denied entry to parks, ordered to cover up outside the home, preferably with a burqa, prohibited from travelling without a male relative, and forced to leave many government jobs.

In talks with the Taliban government for its recognition and the restoration of aid, the international community has made respecting women's rights a sticking point.

Turk argued that "women and girls cannot be denied their inherent rights."

"The de facto authorities' attempts to reduce them to silence and invisibility will fail."