UN Tells Afghan Staff Not To Report To Work Over Women Worker Ban Concerns: Report

This comes after a scheduled United Nations briefing in New York on Tuesday to update member states on the situation in Afghanistan was cancelled at the last minute without explanation.

The United Nations has told all Afghan staff not to report to work in Afghanistan for 48 hours for security reasons while it seeks information from the Taliban about a ban on Afghan women working for the world body, news agency Reuters reported citing sources. 

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) expressed concern earlier on Tuesday that female staff in the eastern province of Nangarhar had been barred from reporting to work.

"We remind de facto authorities that without female staff, United Nations entities cannot operate and provide life-saving assistance," UNAMA said in a statement.

The Taliban administration, the Afghan information ministry, and the provincial administration of Nangarhar did not immediately respond to requests for comment, Reuters reported. 

"National U.N. staff (male and female) will not come to U.N. offices for 48 hours due to a threat of enforcement of a ban on female national staff beginning today in Jalalabad," said a senior U.N. official, referring to the capital of Nangarhar.

The UN is seeking additional information from Taliban authorities, Reuters reported citing an official source from the United Nations.

Since overthrowing a Western-backed government in 2021, the Taliban administration has tightened controls on women's access to public life, including prohibiting women from attending university and closing the majority of girls' high schools.

Most female NGO employees were barred from working by Taliban authorities in December, according to aid workers, making it more difficult to reach female beneficiaries and potentially causing donors to withhold funding.

The United Nations and some other international organisations were initially exempt from the restrictions. In January, the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General expressed concern that authorities may soon restrict Afghan women from working for international organisations.

A scheduled United Nations briefing in New York on Tuesday to update member states on the situation in Afghanistan was cancelled at the last minute without explanation.

The Taliban administration, which seized power as US-led forces withdrew from Afghanistan after a 20-year war, claims to respect women's rights based on its strict interpretation of Islamic law.