UNAMA: Taliban Prevent Female UN Staff from Entering Offices in Kabul and Provinces

Image: UNAMA/Fardin Waezi

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has announced that Taliban forces have prevented Afghan female UN staff from entering the organization’s offices in Kabul and the provinces.

In a statement on Thursday (11 September), UNAMA said that since 7 September, Taliban security forces have been stationed at the entrances of UN offices in Kabul, Herat, and Mazar-i-Sharif, blocking female employees from entering.

According to UNAMA, this restriction has even applied to the travel of female staff providing aid to earthquake victims in eastern Afghanistan and returnees from Iran and Pakistan. The agency warned that the continuation of such obstacles poses a serious risk to the delivery of life-saving assistance to hundreds of thousands of women, men, and children.

UNAMA emphasized that this action by the Taliban is a clear violation of previous agreements with the United Nations as well as a breach of international laws regarding the immunity and privileges of UN staff.

It is worth noting that in December 2022, the Taliban banned women from working in all foreign NGOs, and in April 2023 the same restriction was extended to female UN employees. As a result, more than 90 percent of female UN staff were sidelined from operational duties and many humanitarian programs were suspended or limited.

Human rights activists say these restrictions are part of the Taliban’s policy of “gender apartheid,” aimed at the complete exclusion of women from public, educational, and professional spheres. According to them, such policies not only violate the human dignity of women but also endanger the lives of millions of citizens in need of aid.

The international community has repeatedly called on the Taliban to lift these bans. The United Nations has warned that the continuation of this situation could lead to the suspension of parts of humanitarian programs in Afghanistan.

In its statement, UNAMA called for the immediate removal of Taliban restrictions on the entry and work of female employees.