The U.N. claims it is prepared to make the “heartbreaking” choice to leave Afghanistan if it is unable to persuade the Taliban to allow local women to work for the organisation.
The chief of the U.N. Development Programme stated on Tuesday that the organisation is prepared to make the “heartbreaking” choice to leave Afghanistan in May if it is unable to convince the Taliban to permit Afghan women to serve as assistance personnel.
Achin Steiner, the UNDP Administrator, was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that the U.N. representatives are talking with the Taliban leadership in the hopes that it will make exceptions to a decision this month banning Afghan women from working for the organisation.
It’s reasonable to conclude that the current situation requires the entire UN system to stand back and reevaluate its capacity to function there, according to Mr. Steiner. But it’s not about haggling about fundamental values, like human rights.
Female U.N. humanitarian workers in the region were barred earlier this month, and the Taliban leadership responded by characterising the organization’s decision as a “internal issue.”
According to the organization, since the Taliban took control of the nation in August 2021, they have adopted a more repressive stance against women and girls, depriving them of all of their basic rights.
The Taliban’s action was dubbed a “cruel blow to Afghan women’s rights” by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. The Taliban was alleged to have abandoned their commitment to keep females’ schools open through the sixth grade.
Mr. Steiner said that the organization’s involvement is even more necessary given the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. The U.N., however, has determined that respect for human rights is inalienable, and if the Taliban persist, it will disband in May.