Taliban have ordered all NGOs, both national and international to stop their women employees from working.
According to the Ministry of Economy in a notification sent to NGOs, the latest ban is as a result of the non-observance of the Islamic hijab and other rules and regulations pertaining to the work of females in national and international organizations.
The order threatened to suspend the operating licences of NGOs that failed to implement the directive.
The ban comes less than a week after the Taliban authorities banned women from attending universities, which prompted global outrage and protests in some Afghan cities.
“There have been serious complaints regarding the non-observance of the Islamic hijab and other rules and regulations pertaining to the work of females in national and international organisations.
“The ministry of economy… instructs all organisations to stop females working until further notice,” the notification said.
“In case of negligence of the above directive, the license of the organisation which has been issued by this ministry will be cancelled,” it added.
Two international NGOs confirmed that they had received the notification.
“We are suspending all our activities from Sunday,” a top official at an international NGO involved in humanitarian work told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“We will soon have a meeting of top officials of all NGOs to decide how to handle this issue.”
Dozens of national and international NGOs continue to work in several sectors across remote areas of Afghanistan, and many of their employees are women.
Another official working at an international NGO involved in food distribution said the ban was a “big blow to women staff”.
“We have women staff largely to address humanitarian aid concerns of Afghan women,” the official said.
“How do we address their concerns now?”
Rights group Amnesty International tweeted that the ban was a “deplorable attempt to erase women from the political, social and economic spaces” in Afghanistan.
The order is the latest assault on women’s rights in the country.
On Tuesday, the authorities banned all women from attending universities, triggering condemnation from the United States, the United Nations and several Muslim nations.
The Group of Seven industrialised democracies said the prohibition may amount to “a crime against humanity”.