Foreign Secretary James Cleverly: Taliban ‘trying to erase women’ from society in Afghanistan UK News

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The foreign minister accused the Taliban of “trying to erase women from society in Afghanistan” after imposing a ban on women workers in non-governmental organizations that forced aid agencies to withdraw.

James Cleverly said that everyone in Afghanistan would suffer as a result of this policy as he urged the regime to change its mind.

Humanitarian officials have warned that excluding women from NGO work will have dire consequences for the population by depriving them of life-saving assistance.

Image: James Cleverly urged the Taliban to rescind the ban. pic file

Some have already suspended work in Afghanistan as a result of the ban, which came days after the Afghan Taliban were banned from higher education.

A senior United Nations official in Kabul met a Taliban minister on Monday to discuss the ruling and its impact on humanitarian relief efforts.

“The Taliban are trying to remove women from society in Afghanistan,” the foreign minister said on Twitter.

“Preventing women from working in NGOs will prevent millions of Afghans from accessing life-saving aid and supplies. This will affect everyone.

The Taliban must urgently reverse this decision.”

On Saturday, Economy Minister Qariuddin Muhammad Hanif announced the widely condemned measure, the latest of many restrictions on women’s rights under Taliban rule.

It was imposed because some female NGO employees in Afghanistan were allegedly incorrectly wearing the Islamic headscarf, or hijab.

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0:50 The Minister of Higher Education in the Taliban government defended his decision to prevent women from attending universities, saying that it was necessary to prevent the mixing of the sexes in the classroom.

Ramiz Alekperov, the acting head of the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan, met with Mr. Hanif on Monday and called for the ban to be rescinded.

Before the ban, international aid agencies including Save the Children, the International Rescue Committee (IRC), and the Norwegian Refugee Council and Welfare were providing essential services as living conditions worsened.

David Miliband, the former foreign secretary who now heads the International Rescue Committee, said his female employees are “a lifeline to millions of clients and we couldn’t do without them”.

Christian Aid said it had paused work while it sought to clarify the ad, and urged the Taliban to reverse the ban.

“A ban on female aid workers will only reduce our ability to help the growing number of people in need, and risks compounding the terrible humanitarian crisis that women and girls face,” said Ray Hassan of Christian Aid.

Islamic Relief has temporarily halted non-life-saving activities in the country, although it continues health care deemed life-saving.

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