KABUL: The United Nations said Thursday that it has suspended its assistance to Afghans returning from neighboring countries after the Taliban government prevented women staff members from working.
“On 9 September, in light of instructions from the de facto authorities preventing Afghan female staff from working, UNHCR was compelled to halt activities at its encashment centers across Afghanistan,” the UN’s refugee agency said.
It explained that these are places where Afghans returning from Pakistan and Iran receive money and other support.
The UN said in a separate statement that its women employees had been prevented from accessing their workplaces in several locations across the country this week.
“Security forces are visibly present at the entrances of UN premises in Kabul, Herat, and Mazar-i-Sharif to enforce the restriction. This is particularly concerning in view of continuing restrictions on the rights of Afghan women and girls,” the statement said.
The Taliban authorities have been back in power for four years in Afghanistan after ousting a US-backed government, and have drawn international criticism for their human rights record, particularly the treatment of women.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in July for two senior Taliban leaders, accusing them of crimes against humanity over the persecution of women and girls, who are banned from most education and work.
Women and girls are also barred from parks and gyms, and from traveling without a male guardian.
The UN said it was ending its support for returnees due to operational concerns. For cultural reasons it needs female employees to interview the many women returning from neighboring countries.
The organization said it is holding discussions with the Taliban government in hopes of getting its female staff back to work.
Pakistan has hosted Afghans fleeing violence for more than four decades, from the Soviet invasion to the 2021 Taliban takeover.
However Pakistan’s government, citing an uptick in violent attacks and insurgent campaigns, launched a crackdown in 2023 to evict them, painting the population as “terrorists and criminals.”
More than 2.1 million Afghans have returned from Pakistan and Iran so far this year, according to the United Nations refugee agency.
They join earlier rounds of mass expulsions from the neighboring countries, deported or driven out by fear of arrest.