Taliban blocks female Afghan staffers from working: UN
Female Afghan employees of the United Nations have been banned from working by Taliban authorities in eastern Afghanistan, according to officials of the United Nations.
The UN mission expressed 'serious concern' after its female staffers were prevented from reporting to work in Nangarhar province on Tuesday.
'We remind de facto authorities that United Nations entities cannot operate and deliver life-saving assistance without female staff,' it said in a tweet.
Taliban spokespersons were not immediately available for comment and it wasn’t immediately clear whether the ban extended beyond Nangarhar province.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres would view any ban on Afghan women working for the United Nations in their country as 'unacceptable and, frankly, inconceivable', he said.
Despite initial promises of a more moderate rule than during its previous stint in power, the Taliban have imposed harsh measures since seizing power in 2021 as United States and Nato forces were pulling out of Afghanistan after two decades of war.