UN Human Rights Chief Slams Taliban's Ban on Women Working for NGOs as 'Blow' to Rights

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The decision by the Taliban* to prohibit women from working in non-governmental organizations in Afghanistan is a "blow" to women's rights, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said on Sunday.

"Ban by de facto authorities on women working in NGOs is blow to women’s rights & assault on the lifesaving & critical aid so many Afghans need. Women & girls' rights cannot be denied, nor their voices silenced," Turk said in a statement published by the UN Human Rights Office on Twitter.

On Saturday, Afghan media reported that the Taliban government ordered all local and international non-governmental organizations in Afghanistan to suspend the work of their female employees until further notice.

A Taliban fighter stands guard as a woman enters the government passport office, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, April 27, 2022. Afghanistan's Taliban leadership has ordered all Afghan women to wear the all-covering burqa in public.

© AP Photo / Ebrahim Noroozi

On Tuesday, the Afghan Education Ministry within the Taliban government ordered the suspension of girls' education in private and public higher education institutions. The ban has been harshly criticized by a number of international organizations and global leaders.

*under UN sanctions for terrorism