"Stop Employing Women Or...": Taliban's Latest Diktat To NGOs In Afghanistan

In yet another draconian move to curtail women's freedom in Afghanistan, the Taliban said it will close all national and foreign non-governmental groups in the country employing women. 

In a letter published on X on Sunday night, Afghanistan's Economy Ministry warned that failure to comply with the latest order would lead to NGOs losing their license to operate in the country.

"The Ministry of Economy, as the authority for registering non-Emirati institutions, is responsible for coordinating, leading, and supervising all activities of domestic and foreign NGOs," the post in Persian read.

"Therefore, once again, a follow-up circular has been issued to stop the work of female employees in non-Emirati and foreign institutions. In case of non-cooperation, all activities of the offending institution will be suspended and the activity license they received from this ministry will be cancelled," it added.

وزارت اقتصاد منحیث مرجع ثبت و راجستر موسسات غیر امارتی، مسولیت انسجام، رهبری و نظارت تمامی فعالیت های انجو های داخلی و خارجی را به عهده دارد.
بناً یکبار دیگر طی متحدالمال تعقیبی در مورد توقف کار طبقه اناث در موسسات غیر امارتی داخلی و خارجی هدایت داده شده است. در صورت عدم همکاری… pic.twitter.com/kqiW7Re3an

— Ministry of Economy-Afghanistan (@economy_af) December 29, 2024

This comes two years after the Taliban told NGOs to suspend the employment of Afghan women, allegedly because they didn't wear the Islamic headscarf correctly, according to a report by the Associated Press.

Since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan three years ago, Afghan women have been excluded from almost every sphere of public life, including schools, universities, most workplaces - and even parks and bathhouses. The Taliban have already barred women from many jobs and most public spaces. They have also excluded them from education beyond sixth grade.

Earlier, the Taliban prohibited the construction of windows in residential buildings overlooking areas used by Afghan women. Announcing the move, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid explained in a statement on X, "Seeing women working in kitchens, in courtyards or collecting water from wells can lead to obscene acts."