The United Nations has called on the Taliban to lift new restrictions barring women employed by the organization from entering its offices across the country, warning that critical aid efforts are at risk.
On Sept. 7, Taliban security forces blocked national female staff and contractors from accessing UN compounds in Kabul, according to a UN statement issued Thursday, Sept. 11. The ban has since been extended to field offices nationwide, with armed personnel stationed at entrances in Kabul, Herat and Mazar-i-Sharif to enforce the order.
The UN said it had also received reports of Taliban security forces preventing Afghan women on its payroll from traveling to field sites, including to support women and girls affected by the Aug. 31 earthquake in eastern Afghanistan and to assist returning migrants from Iran and Pakistan.
“These actions put life-saving humanitarian assistance and other essential services at serious risk,” the statement said. “They disregard previously agreed arrangements that allowed the UN to operate in a culturally sensitive and principled manner, ensuring the delivery of assistance by women, for women.”
In response, the UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and its agencies said they had begun making “interim operational adjustments” to protect staff and find alternative ways to sustain their work.
The UN stressed that the restrictions constitute a breach of international rules governing the privileges and immunities of its personnel.
Afghanistan remains one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with more than half the population dependent on aid. Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have banned most Afghan women from employment and public life, a policy that has repeatedly hampered aid operations.
