All domestic and international non-governmental organizations in Afghanistan were told on December 24 to stop hiring women, according to the Taliban leadership, who claimed that some of the women workers weren’t properly donning the Islamic headscarf. Separately, they forbade women from attending religious sessions at the mosques in Kabul, the country’s capital.
The bans, which come only days after the Taliban forbade female students from attending universities throughout the nation, are the most recent restrictions imposed by Afghanistan’s new rulers against the rights and freedoms of women.
Since the ban was implemented, Afghan women have protested it in major cities—a rare instance of domestic unrest since the Taliban took control last year. The judgment has also sparked uproar on a global scale.
The NGO directive was issued in a letter from Afghanistan’s Economy Minister Qari Din Mohammed Hanif, who also threatened to cancel the operational license of any organization found to be disobeying the order. Abdul Rahman Habib, the ministry’s spokesman, verified the letter’s contents to The Associated Press.
According to the ministry, it had been informed of severe complaints over female employees of NGOs who were not donning the proper headscarf, or hijab. It was unclear right away whether the directive applies to all women or just Afghan women who work for NGOs.
There were questions about whether the most recent Taliban action was a prelude to a general ban on Afghan women leaving the house, therefore more information was not immediately accessible.
News Mania Desk
