Foreign NGOs suspend Afghanistan operations after Taliban ban women employees

Foreign aid groups on Sunday suspended their operations in Afghanistan following a decision by the country’s Taliban rulers to ban women from working at international and local non-governmental organizations.

Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council and CARE, said they cannot effectively reach children, women and men in desperate need in Afghanistan without the women on their workforces. The NGO ban was introduced a day earlier, allegedly because women weren’t wearing the Islamic headscarf correctly.

“We have complied with all cultural norms and we simply can’t work without our dedicated female staff, who are essential for us to access women who are in desperate need of assistance," Neil Turner, the Norwegian Refugee Council's chief for Afghanistan, told the Associated Press on Sunday.

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He said the group has 468 female staff in the country.

The developments came in response to the Taliban’s latest edict that curtails the rights and freedoms of women since they seized power last year