Afghanistan: According to the chief of UN aid, the humanitarian sector was in touch with Taliban leaders to try and obtain more exemptions and formal instructions that would permit certain female help workers to work in Afghanistan despite a prohibition on women NGO staff.

“I have been told by a number of Taliban leaders that the Taliban, as an administration, is working on guidelines which will provide more clarity about the role and possibility and hopefully the freedom of women to work in humanitarian work,” Mr. Martin Griffiths, the UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, told reporters.

Griffiths recalled his approach to Taliban leaders during meetings he had with them in Kabul over the past few days that, “If you can’t assist us remove the ban, give us the exemptions to allow women to function.”

It was the second UN-led delegation to visit Afghanistan this month to call on the Taliban administration to revoke two recent laws that severely restrict the rights of women. These laws forbid women from working for nongovernmental organisations and from attending universities.

Taliban officials have claimed the two bans were imposed because women were not observing rules on wearing the hijab, an allegation denied by aid workers and university students, as per the report. Major international relief organisations have stopped activities in Afghanistan as a result of the Taliban’s ban on women working for NGOs. Additionally, it sparked worries that millions will be denied essential services.

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