Yet another attempt by the Taliban to control or intervene in the activities of NGOs, this measure could lead to the removal of the operating licenses of refractory organizations.
Taliban repression continues in Afghanistan. Two years after asking non-governmental organizations to suspend the employment of Afghan women, allegedly because they did not wear the Islamic headscarf correctly, they announced the closure of all NGOs that employ women on Afghan soil.
In a letter published on X on Sunday evening, the Afghan Ministry of Economy warned that if NGOs did not comply with this latest injunction, they would lose their operating license in Afghanistan. “In case of lack of cooperation, all activities of this institution will be canceled and the activity license of this institution, granted by the ministry, will also be canceled”we can read.
Women have already lost many rights since the Taliban returned to power, with many jobs and most public spaces banned. In early December, the United Nations Security Council said that a growing proportion of Afghan aid workers were being prevented from working. The Taliban deny that they are preventing humanitarian organizations from working or that they are interfering with their activities.
In another measure, Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada ordered that buildings not have windows facing places where a woman could sit or stand.
