UN: Taliban Give No Assurances on Lifting Restrictions on Afghan Women

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Margaret Besheer
VOA News
June 21, 2023

The United Nation’s top official in Afghanistan said Wednesday there have been no assurances from the Taliban that they will lift their “punishing restrictions” on the country’s female population, placing a “question mark” over U.N. activities in the country.

“We have been given no explanations by the de facto authorities for this ban, and no assurance that it will be lifted,” Roza Otunbayeva, head of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, told a meeting of the U.N. Security Council.

On April 5, the Taliban verbally informed the United Nations that an existing ban on women working for humanitarian organizations had been extended to include the United Nations. About 400 Afghan women work for the U.N. in the country.

Since then, the U.N. has ordered its female staff to work from home and for non-essential male staffers to also work remotely.

“We are steadfast — female national staff will not be replaced by male national staff as some de facto authorities have suggested,” Otunbayeva said.

The Security Council condemned the Taliban’s edict and called for its reversal in a resolution adopted unanimously on April 27.

The Taliban has been unmoved. Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada directed government spokespersons this month to emphasize the enforcement of Islamic law in their statements.

“The United States and the United Nations have held the entire world hostage, and nothing moves without their dictation,” he told a meeting in the southern city of Kandahar, which is known as the birthplace of the Taliban. “The Islamic Emirate [Taliban] effectively controls all parts of Afghanistan, but non-Muslim and even Islamic countries refuse to recognize it.”

Otunbayeva said the Taliban wants international recognition, but that means fulfilling responsibilities under the U.N. Charter, not working against its values.

“In my regular discussions with the de facto authorities, I am blunt about the obstacles they have created for themselves by the decrees and restrictions they have enacted, in particular against women and girls,” she said. “We have conveyed to them that as long as these decrees are in place it is nearly impossible that their government will be recognized by members of the international community.”

She said the bans, which include earlier ones preventing girls attending secondary schools and universities, visiting parks and gyms, and restricting their movements outside their homes, have taken a toll on women’s mental and physical health.

Otunbayeva urged the Taliban to lift the restrictions so the U.N. can continue its full support to the Afghan people, more than 28 million of whom require some form of humanitarian assistance.

Ayaz Gul in Islamabad contributed to this report.

Forcefully Displacing, Relocating Ethnic Groups Should be Stopped in Afghanistan: CSTO

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Khaama: The foreign ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) demanded that the forced displacement and relocation of ethnic and religious groups in Afghanistan should be stopped. After the return of the Taliban to power, reports emerged that forced displacement of Tajiks, Hazaras, Turkmen and Uzbeks took place in different parts of Afghanistan. In the recent past, several families from Pakistan’s tribal areas were transferred to northern Takhar province according to sources. Click here to read more (external link).

Afghanistan’s opium tragedy persists despite Taliban cultivation ban

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NIKKEI: The increasing number of addicts in Afghanistan shows how opium and heroin have a strong and corrosive impact on families. Husbands get their wives addicted, and mothers often expose their children to opium’s harmful effects. This happens when mothers use opium while pregnant, expose their children to opium smoke, or use opium to calm them when they misbehave or are hungry. Click here to read more (external link).

Afghan envoy in Pakistan says UNHCR not interested in solving refugees’ issue

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Ariana: UNHCR has not taken any cooperative and beneficial measures to solve the problems of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, the Afghan envoy in Islamabad said on Tuesday. Acting Ambassador Sardar Ahmad Shekib, said in a video message on the occasion of World Refugees Day, that Pakistani police are harassing and capturing Afghans under various pretexts. Click here to read more (external link).

The Taliban Interference Hinders Free Eye Treatment in Badghis Province

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8am: A team of doctors traveled to the remote province of Badghis to provide free treatment and services to eye patients. These doctors, supported by Turkey and coordinated with the Ministry of Public Health, were expected to examine around 200 patients daily at Qala-e-Naw City’s provincial hospital and perform surgeries on approximately 25 individuals. While the residents initially welcomed the arrival of these doctors, the Taliban later impeded their activities. Sources in Badghis province confirm that the doctors came to provide free treatment, but their work has been halted due to the Taliban’s opposition, citing the absence of a formal agreement. Click here to read more (external link).

Pakistan asks for WC warm up match swap so as not to play Afghanistan

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Ariana: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has reportedly asked the International Cricket Council if they can play another team and not Afghanistan in the World Cup warm ups later this year. PCB has reasoned that the Pakistan team would have played Afghanistan in the Asia Cup which will take place ahead of the World Cup. The PCB feels another match against Afghanistan will not be beneficial to the team. Click here to read more (external link).

Other Sports News

Local Residents Engaged in Tense Battle Against Nomadic Intruders in Khaja Bahauddin, Takhar Province

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8am: According to reliable sources cited by Hasht-e Subh, the confrontation erupted on Tuesday, June 20, resulting in an injury to one nomad. These sources reveal that a group of nomads infiltrated the village of Naw-Abad-e Sajani in Khaja Bahauddin district, posing a grave threat to around 300 families and their cherished homes, leaving them under immense pressure to evacuate. Disturbingly, the sources claim that those who dare to resist the nomads are unjustly apprehended on charges of affiliations with ISIS and the Resistance Front. Click here to read more (external link).

Taliban Edicts, Donation Decline Prompt $1 Billion Cut in UN Aid to Afghanistan

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Akmal Dawi
VOA News
June 20, 2023

WASHINGTON — Amid unresolved wrangling with Taliban authorities over women’s right to work and education and a decline in donor funding, the United Nations has cut its humanitarian aid request for Afghanistan by more than $1 billion, forcing aid agencies to stop giving critical assistance to millions of people.

In March, the U.N. belatedly launched a Humanitarian Response Plan, or HRP, for Afghanistan, asking donors for $4.6 billion in funding to assist more than 23 million of the most vulnerable Afghans this year. The appeal’s launch was delayed for two months following a Taliban announcement in December banning Afghan women from working at U.N. agencies.

Women in Afghanistan are barred from education and work indefinitely due to “religious and cultural considerations,” Taliban officials say.

Several aid agencies suspended operations in response to the ban on women’s work as donors warned there would be consequences for the Taliban regime.

A mid-year review of the HRP has resulted in significant adjustments in the required funding and the number of beneficiaries it will assist.

“The revised HRP aims to reach 20 million people with multi-sectoral assistance between June and December 2023, requiring $2.26 billion in new funding,” the U.N. said last week.

Consequently, the revised funding appeal now totals just over $3.2 billion, including $942 million (with $850 million carried over from last year) that has been already expended to aid 17.3 million people between January and May of this year.

“Only a fraction of the appeal has been responded to favorably, so that’s the reason that the program had to be cut,” Richard Hoffman, director of ACBAR, a coordination platform for NGOs in Afghanistan, told VOA.

Taliban restrictions are contributing to the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and “the responsibility for the consequences lies with the Taliban leadership,” Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.

Drop in donor funding

As of June 20, donors have given or pledged less than 15% ($467.5 million) of the required funding for the HRP, according to the U.N.

In March, Roza Otunbayeva, U.N. special representative for Afghanistan, had warned that “funding for Afghanistan is likely to drop if women [are] not allowed to work.”

Several Western donors that gave more than $2 billion in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan in 2022, before the Taliban imposed their ban on women’s work for the U.N., now appear to have cut aid to the country.

The United States, which contributed more than $1.2 billion to the humanitarian appeal last year, has given $74 million as of this past June.

Similarly, the United Kingdom, another major donor, allocated $522 million in 2022 but has only contributed around $30 million thus far in 2023. Germany’s funding has dropped from $444 million to $34 million during the same period, according to U.N. figures.

Western donors blame the Taliban for impeding humanitarian operations in the country by adopting misogynistic and intrusive policies.

“The U.S. government remains committed to helping the Afghan people through the humanitarian and economic crisis that the Taliban created and have exacerbated with the discriminatory NGO edict,” a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State told VOA in written comments.

Last week, the United States announced $920 million in additional humanitarian aid for Syria, taking its total assistance to Syria and the region to $1.1 billion in 2023 and nearly $16.9 billion since the start of the 12-year crisis there.

The State Department spokesperson did not answer a question about the disparity in U.S. assistance to Syria and Afghanistan.

The Taliban, however, accuse donors of politicizing aid to Afghanistan, saying the group has facilitated a safe environment for aid agencies to operate.

“I think it’s fair to say that there are consequences for the [Taliban] government’s decisions and actions,” said Hoffman from ACBAR.

“When I meet government officials, the first thing that they mentioned is always that they are grateful for the assistance that NGOs bring to Afghanistan and I’m quite open in saying that, you know, we will be able to deliver that aid more effectively and efficiently if female NGO workers can work alongside their male counterparts,” Hoffman said.

Needs persist

The shortage of funding has already forced the World Food Program (WFP) to cut much-needed food aid to 8 million Afghans over the past two months, including for 1.4 million children and mothers who face risks of malnutrition.

“Removing 8 million poor Afghans from assistance over less than 60 days is an immense shock for over a million families already struggling to meet their daily food needs,” a WFP spokesperson wrote to VOA in written comments.

The agency said it requires $900 million in the next half of the year to deliver life-saving aid to millions of households across the country.

Aid agencies also warn about cuts in other critical areas such as health, shelter and education.

“Without an urgent injection of funding, the country could spiral into famine-like conditions,” Save the Children, an international NGO operating in Afghanistan, said in a statement on Monday.

“The legacy of decades of conflict, a third consecutive year of drought, the international community’s suspension of development assistance and imposition of sanctions since August 2021, and a worsening economy, are contributing to the suffering of the Afghan people,” the statement added.