Translated from Persian to English by Afghanistan Women’s Voice
Banning women from working at UN offices in Afghanistan by the Taliban was predictable. The Taliban do not believe in women’s rights. They use women’s basic rights such as the right to work and education as a bargaining chip in their political negotiations with the international community.
The Taliban have issued more than forty harsh and inhuman decrees aiming to oppress women and girls since they came to power. Basically, they are trying to systematically wipe out women from all spheres of public life.
When the Taliban banned women from working with NGOs in December 2022, protesting women urged international aid agencies to act swiftly and collectively to oppose the imposition of this ban and to stop operating in Afghanistan if female staff members are not allowed to work. But unfortunately, international relief organizations including the UN office in Afghanistan did not stand firm against the Taliban’s decision and agreed with the Taliban that women would continue working only in limited areas.
The international community’s unconditional engagement with the Taliban and their flexibility and softness towards the Taliban’s violation of human rights have made the Taliban more courageous in suppressing human rights and women’s rights in Afghanistan.
The Taliban is responsible for the hunger of 28 million Afghans who rely on humanitarian aid. They take away the possibility of a dignified life from Afghan people by banning women from work which causes rising poverty and starvation in the country. The continuation of this situation will lead to more crises in Afghanistan.
Once again, we members of the Women’s Movements Coalition protest the Taliban act of banning women from work and urge the UN office in Afghanistan to:
– please shut down your political engagement office, the so-called UNAMA in Afghanistan. Because you cannot support and maintain the very basic rights of your female staff members.
– The UN’s goal is to promote and maintain peace and prevent war in the world. But there is no peace in Afghanistan. There are fights going on between different groups and factions. Hazara’s genocide happens on a daily basis, and forced migration, detention, and suppression of protesters and human rights activists are on the rise. Afghanistan is in the process of turning into a recruitment market for international terrorist groups. Have not all these things challenged the UN mission?
– UN has kept silent against the brutal killing of Resistance Front soldiers, the genocide of Hazaras people, against the forced migration of people of Balkhab, Faryab, and Takhar. The UN has also kept silent against the killing of security forces of the previous government, against detaining, torturing, and suppressing activists and protestors Therefore we urge the UN to shut down its office door in Afghanistan. Because it is of no use. UN presence just gives legitimacy to the Taliban.
