After a month, the UN decided to prohibit women from face-to-face collaboration with its offices in Afghanistan and placed emphasis on the continuation of its operations without women’s physical presence.
Following the governing regime’s prohibition on women working on May 5, this organisation, which had ordered all of its staff to stay at home in Afghanistan, said on Friday that it would resume operations there.
On Friday, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) emphasized that it continues its operations in Afghanistan and engages constructively.
The United Nations’ deputy spokesperson, Farhan Haq, said that “there has been no change in our position” at the same time, according to the news agency Reuters.
He told reporters in New York on Friday that they were looking for the “appropriate way of working.” Because of the enormous demands of the Afghan people, he said, “We have challenges in our mission in Afghanistan. We intend to meet those needs, but our operations are obviously facing major obstacles.”
Currently, the UN currently employs roughly 3,300 locals in Afghanistan, with 400 of them being women who are required to remain at home and abide by the rules set down by the government.
Meanwhile, the restriction does not apply to the 600 or so foreign female employees of UN organisations in the nation.
In order to assess the pros and cons of remaining in Afghanistan versus leaving, the UN has previously stated that it will analyse its activities and Afghan homestay employees from April 5 to May 5.
It should be noted that the ruling regime has prohibited women from working with non-governmental organizations since December of last year and from cooperating with the UN since early April of this year. However, UNAMA has previously referred to this as a violation of international law and the principle of non-discrimination.
On April 11, UNAMA declared that the UN could not enact this prohibition because it violates international law, including the UN Charter.
After a month of conflict between the UN and the Taliban’s rules, it appears that the UN has given in to their demands and is now carrying on with its operations in Afghanistan without the participation of any women.