Statement of the Embassy and Mission of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Rome Condemning the Suspension of Women Employment by the NGOs in Afghanistan

Rome, 27 December 2022

The Embassy and Mission of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Rome, vehemently condemns the latest directive by the Taliban to forbid Afghan female employees from working in indigenous and non-indigenous NGOs in Afghanistan, and in case of non-compliance, threatening such organizations to revoke their licenses. This directive comes only a few days after the dreadful suspension of the access of Afghan women to higher education, and follows the spate of other draconian policies by the Taliban over the past 16 months in Afghanistan.

Depriving Afghan women from work and other social activities further increases unemployment in the country and potentially deprives millions of people of having access to aid programs at a time where more than half of the population relies on the humanitarian aid.

Given that the Taliban have made breathing almost impossible for the people of Afghanistan, especially for girls, women and minorities, and considering that their presence has once again become a great danger for the security interests of Afghanistan, the region and beyond, it is time for the international community, including the Islamic countries to fulfill their obligations under the UN Charter, UN Conventions and Protocols, Universal Declarations, GA and SC Resolutions and Global Goals by calling upon the UN Security Council to convene an emergency meeting in order to denounce the latest Taliban directives as gender apartheid as well as come up with concrete actions to avoid its definite impact on regional stability and international security. At the same time, it is crucial that the OIC and SCO based on their own interest take decisive steps or otherwise allowing the victimization of Afghans and sheltering regional and transnational terrorist groups in the country, is going to have dire consequences for their own member states in the near future.

At this critical juncture, it is imperative for global community, including the Afghan intelligencia, to exert pressure on the Taliban through the utilization of ‘Smart Power’ to immediately take back their decisions, but also return back to the negotiation table, which ultimately lead to the establishment of an inclusive, representative, participatory and responsive government, where the right of every Afghan citizen will be respected and guaranteed.

The Embassy and Mission of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Rome once again strongly condemns the Taliban’s latest decision and calls upon the international community to take decisive measures in order to put an end to the current fearmongering in Afghanistan.