Some women’s rights activists, in response to the suspension of women’s work in non-governmental organizations, told that banning women from work exacerbates economic challenges.
These activists have urged the Islamic Emirate to lift restrictions on women’s education and employment.
“Our consistent demand from the Islamic Emirate is to address the rights of all citizens of the country, especially Afghan women. They must reopen closed doors to education, higher education, and employment as soon as possible and pay attention to women’s demands,” said Tafsir Siyahposh, a women’s rights activist.
Meanwhile, economic analysts said that banning women from work will create challenges in delivering aid to women in remote areas of the country.
“Women constitute a significant portion of Afghanistan’s population. If they are removed from NGOs and institutions, systems should be established in their homes so they can support themselves and their families,” Shams Rahman Ahmadzai, an economic analyst, told TOLOnews.
“This is while a letter on the matter has been made public by the Ministry of Economy. The ministry stated that women working in UN organizations are exempt from this directive because the licenses for UN institutions are issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” Qutbuddin Yaqubi, another economic analyst, told TOLOnews.
Abdul Rahman Habib, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Economy, said that currently 853 non-governmental organizations, including 175 foreign and 678 domestic organizations, are operating in the country.
The spokesperson told TOLOnews: “At present, there are a total of 853 non-Emirate (non-governmental) NGOs, including 175 foreign and 678 domestic organizations, whose budgets for individual projects are registered in the Ministry of Economy’s system, and they operate in various sectors with project-based activities.”
On Sunday, the Ministry of Economy once again issued an order to stop women from working in non-governmental organizations. The ministry stressed that if these organizations do not cooperate in this regard, all their activities will be suspended, and the licenses they have obtained from the ministry will be revoked.