UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday condemned Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities for banning Afghan women from working for the United Nations and called for the decision to be immediately revoked.
“This is a violation of the inalienable fundamental human rights of women,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement on behalf of the secretary-general.
The UN mission in Afghanistan said that, although it could not accept the decision, it had told all Afghan staff not to report to the office until further notice for safety reasons.
Taliban administration spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment. The Taliban administration, which seized power as US-led forces withdrew, says it respects women’s rights in line with its strict interpretation of Islamic law.
“The ban is unlawful under international law and cannot be accepted,” Roza Otunbayeva, the secretary-general’s special representative for Afghanistan, said in a separate statement, adding that the move also violated the UN charter.
She said she was engaging with the Taliban at the highest levels to reverse the order.
