A prime UN official warned Wednesday {that a} Taliban authorities order banning Afghan ladies from working for its mission within the nation “is going to violate” the world physique’s constitution, which rejects gender segregation.

The Taliban authorities have imposed a slew of restrictions on Afghan ladies since seizing energy in 2021, together with banning them from increased training and plenty of authorities jobs.

The rising curbs are paying homage to the Taliban’s first authorities between 1996 and 2001, when the UN mentioned they had been accountable for repeated human rights violations — notably towards women and girls.

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The UN mentioned on Tuesday the Taliban authorities had prolonged a ban on ladies working for non-governmental organisations to the world physique’s workforce of 400 Afghan ladies.

“UNAMA received word of an order by the de facto authorities that bans female national staff members of the United Nations from working,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the secretary-general, instructed reporters, including that the UN had heard “from various conduits that this applies to the whole country”.

The UN had up to now been exempt from a December order for all international and home assist companies to cease ladies from working throughout the crisis-stricken nation.

Dujarric mentioned no written order had but been acquired, however that the UN was to carry conferences with the Taliban on Wednesday in Kabul to “seek some clarity”.

UN humanitarian coordinator in Afghanistan Ramiz Alakbarov instructed AFP in an interview: “The charter of the United Nations is going to be violated.”

“It is absolutely clear that no authority can give instructions to the United Nations … on who should be employed,” he mentioned. “We are not going to make an exception.”

While it’s unclear what the impact of a constitution violation could be in the long run, the UN ordered all its Afghan employees to remain residence for 48 hours from Wednesday morning.

The UN airlifted $1.8 billion into Afghanistan between December 2021 and January 2023, funding an assist lifeline for the nation’s 38 million residents and shoring up the home economic system.

Alakbarov mentioned the Taliban authorities order was a “huge violation” of ladies’s rights. “Women are absolutely essential to all aspects of our service delivery work in Afghanistan,” he mentioned.

The UN’s 400 feminine Afghan staff are the majority of its 600 feminine employees working in Afghanistan. In complete, there are about 3,300 Afghans within the 3,900-strong UN workforce there.

The Taliban authorities ordered all NGOs in December to cease using Afghan ladies after receiving “serious complaints” that girls staff weren’t observing a correct Islamic costume code.

“These justifications have no basis considering what we know about Islam,” mentioned Alakbarov. Several conservative nations within the area nonetheless permit ladies to review and work, he mentioned.

Several NGOs suspended their complete operations in protest after the ban was introduced, piling additional distress on Afghanistan’s residents, half of whom are going through starvation, in keeping with assist companies.

Also learn: UN tells Afghan staff to stay home over women worker ban concerns: Report

It was agreed after days of debate that girls working within the well being assist sector could be exempt from the decree.

Aid employees say feminine staff are essential in delivering assist to ladies beneficiaries in a deeply conservative and patriarchal nation akin to Afghanistan.

The restriction can even hamper donation-raising efforts by the UN at a time when Afghanistan is enduring one of many worst humanitarian crises on the planet, Alakbarov mentioned.

The Taliban authorities has imposed an austere interpretation of Islam since surging again to energy.

Authorities have barred teenage ladies from secondary faculty, ladies have been pushed out of many authorities jobs, prevented from travelling and not using a male family member and ordered to cowl up exterior the house, ideally with a burqa.

Women have additionally been banned from universities and will not be allowed to enter parks or gardens.