The Taliban have banned Afghan women from working in non-governmental organizations in the country.
The letter said female employees could not work for the NGO until further notice because some had not adhered to the Taliban’s interpretation of the Islamic dress code for women.
He added that failure to comply would result in the suspension of their licenses.
The economy ministry said it had received “serious complaints” about female staff not wearing the “correct” headscarf or hijab.
The ban comes days after the Taliban banned Afghan women from going to university, a move that drew international condemnation.
It was not clear whether the ban, announced in a letter and confirmed by the economy ministry, also applied to foreign women or those working for the United Nations, which has a significant presence in the country.
The economy ministry said the ban applies to Afghanistan’s coordinating body for humanitarian organizations, known as ACBAR, which does not include the UN.
However, the UN contracts NGOs that are part of ACBAR in Afghanistan to carry out its humanitarian work.
The UN said it expects to meet with the Taliban to seek clarity on the issue, with Ramiz Alakbarov, its deputy special representative for Afghanistan and humanitarian coordinator, adding that most of its work in the country was carried out by NGOs.
She said: “Many of our programs will be affected and we will not be able to implement them because unless we have female staff involved in humanitarian need assessment, beneficiary identification, aid delivery and the distribution of aid. aid, then we will not be able to implement it.”
Image: Women shot with a water cannon in western Afghanistan. Image: AP
She added: “An important principle of humanitarian aid delivery is the ability of women to participate independently and unhindered in its distribution, so if we cannot do this in a principled way, no donor will not fund a program like this.”
In recent days, the Taliban have used water cannons to disperse those who have been protesting the ban on women from university.
Witnesses in the western city of Herat said more than 20 women marching to the provincial governor’s house chanting “education is our right” were turned away by security forces with a water cannon on Saturday.
The video shows women screaming and hiding to escape the water.
One of the organizers of the protests, Maryam, said that between 100 and 150 women participated in the protests, moving in smaller groups.
“There was security on every street, every square, armored vehicles and armed men,” he said.
“When we started our protest, in Tariqi Park, the Taliban took tree branches and beat us. But we continued our protest. They increased their security presence. Around 11 am they removed the cannon from “water”.
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0:50 Taliban defend university ban on women
Hamidullah Mutawakil, the local governor, disputed this version of events, saying only about five people showed up who “didn’t have an agenda, they just came here to make a movie.”
After the Taliban took power last year, the militants promised a more moderate rule for women’s rights, but have since banned them from schools, most workplaces and parks and gymnasiums.
Women in the country must also dress head to toe in a niqab, with only the eyes uncovered, in public.