Four foreign aid groups suspend work in Afghanistan after Taliban bars

CNN
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Four foreign aid groups said Sunday that they were moving to temporarily suspend their operations in Afghanistan after the Taliban barred female employees of non-governmental organizations from coming to work.

“We cannot effectively reach children, women and men in desperate need in Afghanistan without our female staff,” aid organizations Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council and CARE International said in a joint statement Sunday. Another international aid group, Afghanaid, made a similar announcement separately on Sunday.

“Without women driving our response, we would not have jointly reached millions of Afghans in need since August 2021. Beyond the impact on delivery of lifesaving assistance, this will affect thousands of jobs in the midst of an enormous economic crisis,” said the statement, which was signed by the heads of the three NGOs.

“Whilst we gain clarity on this announcement, we are suspending our programmes, demanding that men and women can equally continue our lifesaving assistance in Afghanistan,” the statement added.

The Taliban administration on Saturday ordered all local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to stop their female employees from coming to work, according to a letter by the Ministry of Economy sent to all licensed NGOs. Non-compliance will result in the licenses of said NGOs being revoked, the ministry said.

David Wright, chief operating officer for Save the Children International, told CNN on Monday that the organization was unable to “reach tens of thousands of vulnerable mothers and children right across the country” because of the ban.

“We can’t get out to work because we need our female colleagues to help us get access to women and children. You can’t access young mothers or young children in education if you don’t have…