Afghan economy impacted by ban on women working in NGOs: OCHA

Kabul [Afghanistan]: The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report that the ban on women working in NGOs in Afghanistan has had a major impact on the country's economy, TOLO News reported.

TOLO News is an Afghan news channel broadcasting from Kabul.

As per the report, the economy of Afghanistan, "a country that relies on humanitarian aid," is currently deteriorating due to the ban on women's work.

An Afghan economic expert, Mohammad Nabi, said: "In the future, we must build a good economy in cooperation with women, and the Taliban must build a proper mechanism and provide work for women in government offices so that women can serve in society."

December 24 is the one-year anniversary of the prohibition of women from working in non-governmental organisations.

A number of women want the Taliban to provide working opportunities in various sectors.

Rozita, 40, the only breadwinner of her 6-member family who used to work in non-governmental organisations and is now unemployed, is busy preparing Afghan food in Kabul. She called on the Taliban to provide women with the opportunity to work in the country.

"I am the breadwinner of my own house. There are six of us in the family; I came here because of the poor economy, and we opened a restaurant here," Rozita said, as per TOLO News.

But the Taliban said that women are working where they are needed. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said: "About 150,000 of our sisters are busy working in the health sector; our sisters work in education, in higher education, in the police, in Tazkira authorities and in other sectors where they are needed, such as airfields. In parts where our sisters cannot work, their wages are paid at home."

On December 24, 2022, the Taliban-appointed Ministry of Economy in a letter ordered domestic and foreign non-governmental organisations to suspend the duties of female employees until further notice, which has been accompanied by domestic and foreign reactions.

(ANI)