Worldwide condemnation against the Taliban’s decision to ban women from working at domestic and international NGOs heightened on December 25, with at least three foreign groups saying they will suspend operations in Afghanistan. The Swiss-based CARE, the U.S.-based Save the Children, and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRE) all said they were suspending aid operations in Afghanistan following the Taliban rulers’ announcement that all NGOs should ban women from working at their jobs or face losing their licenses to operate in the country. Later, the New York-based International Rescue Committee (IRC), which has been active in Afghanistan since 1988, said it was “dismayed and disheartened by the latest Taliban edict” and that it too would suspend operations in the country.
The UN Security Council on Tuesday denounced the Taliban’s ban on women attending universities or working for humanitarian aid groups. It called for the “full, equal and meaningful” participation of women and girls in Afghanistan. The council said that barring women and girls from higher education in the country “represents an increasing erosion of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.” The ban on women aid workers also will have a significant and immediate impact on humanitarian operations in the country. The Security Council statement represents a rare international consensus, including its five permanent members.
Major NGO’s have suspended operations in Afghanistan
Following the announcement by the Taliban’s Ministry of Economy last Saturday, an increasing number of major nongovernmental aid groups have suspended or curtailed operations in Afghanistan, at least temporarily, because many of their key staff, especially those who deal directly with Afghan families, are from the feminine gender.
The Birmingham-based “Islamic Relief Worldwide” also said that it would suspend non-lifesaving operations.
Without NGOs, the burden falls on UN agencies to provide critically needed assistance, but the suspension of women’s participation in humanitarian work is likely to affect their work as well, including that of the main UN mission UNAMA.
The Taliban seized power in August 2021, promising to allow women and girls to continue to receive education and participate in the labour force. Many in Afghanistan and the international community hoped that they would live up to those commitments and not revert to the misogynist policies practiced by them when they ruled Afghanistan previously from 1996-2001.
Taliban have gone back from their promise of giving liberty to women in education and job
Since taking control, the Taliban have reassured the Afghan people, and their regional and international interlocutors, including the UN, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Gulf Cooperation Council, that they had no intention of going back to the restrictive policies of the 1990s, or to ban women’s work or education.
Unfortunately, in recent months, those promises have been proven false, and the Taliban have gradually reversed the gains made by Afghan women over the past two decades. In the process, these anti-women policies have resulted in clear human rights violations. But the Taliban are also jeopardizing the economic future of the country by denying education and work to half of its population. Most importantly, their actions are making a serious humanitarian situation worse by barring women from aid works and, thus, paralyzing international relief efforts.
In their esoteric and complicated recent justifications for the new restrictions, Taliban leaders have tried to give the draconian measures an Islamic pretence, but Muslim countries and organizations around the world quickly shot down their frivolous arguments.
Senior Islamic scholars have condemned the mysterious interpretation of Islamic Law on women’s fundamental rights
The Senior Scholars Council, Saudi Arabia’s top religious authority, issued a statement on Dec. 24 admonishing the Taliban and calling on them to rescind the ban, saying that access to education is one of the women’s fundamental rights in Islam.
The head of “Al-Azhar”, the Cairo-based top religious authority in the Islamic world, issued a similar statement the previous day, denouncing the Taliban move, and warning against “believing or accepting the allegation that banning women’s education is approved in Islam.” It described Taliban claims as a “fabrication of Islamic principles.”
Saudi Arabia and most other major Muslim countries have also acted in unison, making it clear that the Taliban’s antics are the products of misogyny and male chauvinism, and have little to do with Islamic teachings or traditions.
The Taliban are almost alone in the brazenness of their misogynistic policies; others try to hide or sugarcoat them.
Two countries in the world Iran and Afghanistan have resorted to women’s coercion
Two countries now stand out in their mistreatment of women — Iran and Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. The first is cracking down on female-led protests which are demanding an end to archaic restrictions on female dress and public conduct, while the latter is introducing increasingly harsh restrictions on women’s movement, education and work. Both countries are using extreme measures to enforce their policies. Iran has in the recent past executed many protesters and imposed collective punishment on communities, including the Kurds in the northwest and Balochis in the south. In an incident on Monday, Iranian authorities ordered a Dubai-bound flight to land and forced off the family of former Iranian footballer Ali Daei, who is believed to support protests in the country.
The Taliban appear to be thumbing their noses at their detractors. In fact, the universal ban on women was announced as the Security Council met last week in New York to discuss Afghanistan.
Almost all outside powers, including Afghanistan’s neighbours, have refrained from conferring political recognition on the Taliban’s rule, making it clear that any acknowledgement depends on the group’s conduct, especially regarding women, forming an inclusive government and combating terrorism. Some countries, including Russia and China, have maintained significant economic dealings with the Taliban. Other states and organizations have held hopes that the group would moderate its views in time. But the recent reversals are making it difficult to maintain those hopes.
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The dilemma lies with the world as how to provide humanitarian support to the poor Afghans
The dilemma the world faces is how to help the Afghan people while ensuring that the Taliban get a deterrent message denouncing their harsh restrictions on women. The unpopular interim government is effectively holding Afghanistan’s population of almost 40 million people hostage. UN aid officials told the UN Security Council last week that 97 per cent of Afghans live in poverty, two-thirds of the population need aid to survive, and 20 million people face acute hunger.
Withdrawal or reduction of humanitarian assistance due to the ban on women’s work in that area jeopardizes the lives of those in need in Afghanistan. The resistance to Taliban rule can only thrive and grow with these latest draconian measures. The country’s stability, unity, social cohesion and economic health are all at stake.
The world should come together in this fight for eliminating this humanitarian crisis
Friends of Afghanistan and humanitarian organizations across the world need to coordinate their efforts on how to address this dilemma. A meeting organized by the GCC in early January 2023 will inevitably focus on how these new measures affect the delivery of aid to those in need in the country.
May the Almighty bring peace and happiness to the innocent people of Afghanistan.
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