Taliban Restrictions Paralyze Female UN Staff in Afghanistan

DID Press: UN reported that strict Taliban restrictions on Afghan female employees have severely disrupted UN operations and posed significant challenges to humanitarian programs in Afghanistan.

According to a new UNAMA report submitted to the Security Council, barring Afghan women from UN offices has effectively paralyzed key humanitarian and relief activities. Over the past three months, 63 security incidents and restrictions directly affecting UN staff have been recorded, hindering day-to-day operations.

UNAMA highlighted that, following strict enforcement of the Taliban leadership’s directive prohibiting women from entering international organization offices, Taliban defense forces have physically stationed themselves outside the UN Operations Center in Kabul to block women’s entry. Similar measures have been observed at the Barun compound in Kabul.

These restrictions have not only complicated field assessments, project monitoring, and service delivery but also limited Afghan women’s access to humanitarian assistance. Programs related to education, health, psychosocial support, social services, and women’s case management have become nearly impossible to implement without female staff.

The UN warned that the situation is worsening amid ongoing humanitarian, economic, and security crises in Afghanistan. It has called on Taliban authorities to immediately lift the restrictions and allow female staff to perform their duties in accordance with international standards.

Continuing these restrictions could deprive millions of vulnerable citizens, particularly women and children, of essential services and further exacerbate the humanitarian crisis.