UN halts programs after Taliban diktat

'Time-critical' programs in Afghanistan have temporarily been stopped as Taliban bans women in NGOs. Several other activities too have to be paused as they are run entirely by women aid workers, warns UN.

New Delhi, Dec 29: The misogynistic proclamations of Taliban, the Islamic fundamentalist organisation that rules Afghanistan now, have come at a time when the country is facing a huge economic crisis and most of its population needs international aid. After the Taliban asked voluntary organisations to terminate the services of women workers, the United Nations too has stopped its operations in the country for the time being.

The UN has said that some 'time-critical' programs in Afghanistan have temporarily stopped. The organization has also warned that several other activities will also likely need to be paused as some of them are run entirely by the women aid workers, London-based 'The Guardian' has reported.

No place for working women

The word 'Taliban' comes from the Arabic word 'Talib', which means a student or trainee. So Taliban means 'the students of Islam'. For decades, they have been the face of fundamentalist Islam and another name of terror in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Now that they are in power, the ugly manifestations of their religious ideology have come to the fore. Their anti-women approach was visible as soon as they usurped the power. The first diktat was to ban women from education.

Quite recently, the Taliban came up with a blanket ban on the women NGO workers in their country. This has, however, not gone well with the UN and other international aid agencies operating in Afghanistan. According to UN Aid chief Martin Griffiths, women's participation in aid delivery is not negotiable. Griffiths made it clear that women aid workers should be allowed and sought the Taliban to reverse its decision.

It's life-threatening

Banning women from humanitarian work has immediate life-threatening consequences. In a press note, the UN said that the fact cannot be ignored that the operational constraints now facing us as a humanitarian community. Nonetheless, the UN will always endeavour to continue lifesaving, time-critical activities. However, if the restrictions on women aid workers are there, they would have to stop for the time being.

The UN says that it cannot deliver humanitarian aid without the help from female aid workers as they have been playing a crucial role all these years. Criticising the Taliban move, it also admitted that banning women from humanitarian work has immediate life-threatening consequences for all Afghans.

The latest decision by the UN to pause its humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan has come after the foreign ministers of the EU, US, Britain and 12 other countries urged Taliban to reverse its anti-women diktat. Will the Taliban pay heed to the voice of reason?