UN Threatens to Cut Aid to Afghanistan Over Taliban Ban on Women

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The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has warned that its aid cannot continue to be delivered in Afghanistan if the Taliban does not retract its ban on women working for humanitarian aid agencies. Martin Griffiths, the UNOCHA leader, is expected to visit Kabul soon to negotiate over the situation.

Impasse Between UN and Taliban

There are reports of severe winter illnesses among children in the area, and at least 150 Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have either wholly or partially suspended their activities due to the prohibition. The UN itself is not currently facing this restriction, but it relies on NGOs to deliver a lot of its aid.

Griffiths discussed the difficulty of the circumstances to the BBC. He said that without women employed by aid agencies, aid cannot be delivered to women and girls in an effective manner. He proposed that a measure of flexibility could be possible in terms of the ban, considering that it is inconsistently enforced in different parts of the country.

UN-led flights carrying cash to the region were put on hold while this situation with the Taliban is ongoing. This is because US sanctions complicate the matter and cash is the only viable method of providing aid.

Mixed Messages From Kabul

The Taliban enforces the ban in Kandahar and other regions, but other branches of the organisation take a different approach. With this in mind, it is not yet clear if the ban is still in place in all areas. Aid groups are currently trying to assess the situation in various communities, especially in the medical field.

In an effort to dispute any claims of misuse of UN aid for Taliban gain, Griffiths made clear that aid money is “numbered and tagged” and has very strict regulations. He also said that he does not believe that the UN system is the supplier of the Taliban’s funds.

Mawlavi Abdul Kabir, Afghanistan’s Deputy Prime Minister, has signaled that the government might not fully endorse the ban. During a meeting with Markus Potzel, the UN’s deputy special representative for Afghanistan, Kabir stated that all Afghans, including women, have the right to pursue religious and modern education. The government is still attempting to work out the specifics when it comes to female education.

Security Council Meeting Convened

Japan and the United Arab Emirates have called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on the 13th of January to address the crisis with NGOs. This will take place before Griffiths travels to Afghanistan.

Though the main goal of UNOCHA is to offer aid, the Taliban ban is a major challenge to achieving this purpose. By suspending the ban on women, UNOCHA and the Afghan government seek to resume humanitarian relief for the 28 million Afghans in the country.