Ban on Female Employees Major Blow to Afghanistan: NRC Chief

Egeland added that the council adheres to all Islamic principles and values and they should be allowed to operate in Afghanistan. 

Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, in an interview with TOLOnews said that he believes that banning women from working in non-governmental organizations would be a significant blow to Afghanistan.

“Banning of female staff is a big blow, and therefore we have suspended all our work, we cannot work with males only. We have been in Afghanistan now for twenty years,” he said.

According to Egeland, the council abides by all Islamic values and principles and asks that the Islamic Emirate reconsider its decision to suspend women’s employment.

Egeland added that the council adheres to all Islamic principles and values and they should be allowed to operate in Afghanistan.

“We cannot do good work with males only, it is impossible, exactly this decision makes it impossible for us to work in Afghanistan,” Egeland further noted.

Meanwhile, analysts said the decision of the current government will have irreparable consequences for the country.

“The result of such a decision will naturally have irreparable consequences for Afghanistan,” Farah Mustafawi, a women’s rights activist said.

“At the international level, the issue can still have a serious impact on the ties of the new rulers of Afghanistan with the world and makes the process of their recognition more complex,” said Hekmatullah Mirzada, a university lecturer.

The Islamic Emirate’s decision has provoked reactions from the United Nations, the European Union, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and many countries.

Ban on Female Employees Major Blow to Afghanistan: NRC Chief
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Karzai: Intra-Afghan Dialogue Important for Islamic Emirate, Afghanistan

The former president, who remained in power from 2001 to 2014, made the remarks in an interview with The Washington Post.

Former President Hamid Karzai urged the Islamic Emirate to begin a process of inclusivity by launching a grand Afghan dialogue, saying that it is for the good of the “Taliban themselves and for the good of the country.” 

The former president, who remained in power from 2001 to 2014, made the remarks in an interview with The Washington Post.

When asked about the Islamic Emirate’s stance regarding the intra-Afghan dialogue, Karzai said: “On the principle of things, there is an agreement. They say yes. On a national dialogue being imperative to a better Afghanistan, there is an agreement. On getting it launched and done, we haven’t yet gotten where we should be.”

He blamed former president Ashraf Ghani’s fleeing as the reason for the collapse of the republican government.

“If Ashraf Ghani didn’t escape from the country and believed in peace and intra-Afghan negotiations, the government would still remain in place,” said Shahzada Masoud, a close figure to Karzai.

Analysts also said that intra-Afghan dialogue can address the country’s challenges.

“We should conduct a national dialogue, either a Loga Jirga (grand assembly) or a grand council. People from across Afghanistan, from each village and district, should be invited to the capital to make a decision in this regard,” said Kamran Aman, a political analyst.

“Negotiations and dialogues in a nation like Afghanistan that has witnessed long wars are necessary for its stability,” said Najibullah Jami, a political analyst.

Head of the Islamic Emirate’s Qatar based political office, Suhail Shaheen, said the caretaker government has established a commission to facilitate the return of Afghan political leaders.

“Afghans abroad are in contact with the commission. They share their opinions and questions with them. Second, Afghans abroad can contact the commission,” Shaheen said.

“The war in Afghanistan was not our war,” Karzai said. “I was against that war. I was not a partner of the United States in that war against Afghan villages and homes,” Karzai said. “I stood against it, and I worked against it. I changed from the moment I recognized that this war that is fought in the name of defeating terrorism is actually a war against the Afghan people.”

The former president also expressed disagreement with the US decision to split Afghan assets of $7 billion.

“I strongly disagree with the decision to strip the Afghan reserves, keeping half of it for the possibility of distribution to the 9/11 victims, with whom the Afghan people commiserate fully. … We as the greatest victims of terrorism commiserate fully with American families who lost lives and suffered in that great tragedy of Sept. 11,” Karzai said in the interview with The Washington Post.

Karzai: Intra-Afghan Dialogue Important for Islamic Emirate, Afghanistan
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Deputy Minister Reiterates Commitment to Fight Drugs

Banafsha Binesh

Tolo News

27 Dec 2022

Akhundzada said the trafficking of drugs from these countries is mostly to the northern province of Badakhshan, Takhar and Kunduz.

The deputy minister of counter-narcotics, Abdulhaq Akundzada, said the commitment to fight drugs and said alcoholic beverages, as well as a number of illicit drugs, are brought to Afghanistan from Iran, Pakistan and Central Asia.

Akhundzada asked the countries to prevent the trafficking of drugs to Afghanistan.

“If the narcotics are being trafficked to Iran, Pakistan and Central Asian countries or anywhere else, we will prevent it. We have arrested many of them.

Therefore, drugs are coming from their countries to our country. We want them to secure their borders and prevent the export of these materials to our country,” he said.

Akhundzada said the trafficking of drugs from these countries is mostly to the northern province of Badakhshan, Takhar and Kunduz.

He also acknowledged the existence of opium trafficking from Afghanistan to abroad.

“Some drugs are coming from Central Asia. There are sometimes reports of drugs known as ‘Tablet K’ and wine,” Akundzada said.

Analysts said that drug trafficking to Afghanistan from neighboring countries will affect the country’s security.

“If the import of the drugs surges, it can affect security in Afghanistan and it can surge the number of drug addicts in our country,” said Sadiq Shinwari, a military veteran.

“The world should engage with the Islamic Emirate and the Islamic Emirate should draw the assistance of the countries and help farmers to find an alternative for poppy farming,” said Ajmal Zurmati, an international relations analyst.

According to the deputy minister of counter-narcotics, so far, over 3,600 people have been arrested on charges of drug trafficking.

Deputy Minister Reiterates Commitment to Fight Drugs
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Delawar Expects Decision on Women, Girls’ Education Next Year

A number of the instructors also urged the Islamic Emirate to reopen universities for female students.

Acting Minister of Petroleum and Mines Shahabuddin Delawar on Tuesday said that a decision will be made soon regarding schools and universities for female students.

He referred to the decree of the Islamic Emirate’s supreme leader and said it was instructing a temporary order.

He said the decision will be made in the first month of the next solar year (April 2023) based on the values of Islam and Afghan traditions.

“A decision will be made by Hamal (the first month of the solar year), which will be in accordance with the Islam and Afghan traditions,” he said.

Some students meanwhile expressed concerns over the suspension of higher education for women saying that universities should be reopened “immediately.”

“I am a student of journalism faculty and public relations. I am shocked,” said Parween Iqalli, a student.

“They may reopen the doors of universities for students so that they can reach their educational dreams,” said Abdullah.

“Women and girls need education. We call on government authorities to reopen schools and universities,” said Mustafa, a student.

A number of the instructors also urged the Islamic Emirate to reopen universities for female students.

“The aftermath would be dangerous for Afghanistan,” said Khawani Hemat, a university instructor.

Earlier, the Islamic Emirate in a letter ordered the suspension of higher education for female students.

Delawar Expects Decision on Women, Girls’ Education Next Year
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43rd Anniversary of Soviet Union’s Invasion of Afghanistan

Forty-three years after the Soviet invasion, some Afghans still remember bitter memories from the war.

Dec. 27 marks the 43rd anniversary of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. On this day in 1979, nearly 100,000 members of the former Soviet forces invaded Afghanistan.

A number of Islamic Emirate leaders called it a dark day for Afghanistan.

“If we don’t consider every person of this nation as our brothers, we will commit injustice against this nation,” said Abdul Salam Makhdoom, the deputy minister of public works.

According to some reports, the war triggered by the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan has left more than one million Afghans dead. More than 14,000 soldiers of the Soviet Union were killed.

“They attacked Afghanistan on the sixth of Jadi. All the problems we see today are due to that dark day,” said Torialai Zazai, a political analyst.

“The 6th of Jadi was the start of the destruction of Afghanistan. Since then, Afghanistan has never seen a good day, and this is unfortunate that conflicts, killings and destructions are still underway,” said Aziz Maarij, a political analyst.

Forty-three years after the Soviet invasion, some Afghans still remember bitter memories from the war.

“The achievements of the Soviet forces is that this nation is still witnessing conflicts and is in a poor condition, said Abdul Khaliq,” a Kabul resident.

On February 15, 1989, Boris V. Gromov was the last soldier of the Soviet Union who left Afghanistan.

43rd Anniversary of Soviet Union’s Invasion of Afghanistan
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UN rights chief urges Taliban to drop restrictions on women

Associated Press

27 December 2022

BERLIN (AP) — The United Nations’ human rights chief on Tuesday decried increasing restrictions on women’s rights in Afghanistan, urging the country’s Taliban rulers to reverse them immediately. He pointed to “terrible consequences” of a decision to bar women from working for non-governmental organizations.

Last week, Taliban authorities stopped university education for women, sparking international outrage and demonstrations in Afghan cities. On Saturday, they announced the exclusion of women from NGO work, a move that already has prompted four major international aid agencies to suspend operations in Afghanistan.

“No country can develop — indeed survive — socially and economically with half its population excluded,” U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in a statement issued in Geneva. “These unfathomable restrictions placed on women and girls will not only increase the suffering of all Afghans but, I fear, pose a risk beyond Afghanistan’s borders.”

“This latest decree by the de facto authorities will have terrible consequences for women and for all Afghan people,” Türk said, adding that banning women from working for NGOs will deprive them and their families of incomes and of the right to “contribute positively” to the country’s development.

“The ban will significantly impair, if not destroy, the capacity of these NGOs to deliver the essential services on which so many vulnerable Afghans depend,” he said.

Despite initially promising a more moderate rule respecting rights for women and minorities when they took power last year, the Taliban have widely implemented their strict interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia.

They have banned girls from middle school and high school, restricted women from most employment and ordered them to wear head-to-toe clothing in public. Women are also banned from parks and gyms.

“Women and girls cannot be denied their inherent rights,” Türk said. “Attempts by the de facto authorities to relegate them to silence and invisibility will not succeed — it will merely harm all Afghans, compound their suffering, and impede the country’s development.”

UN rights chief urges Taliban to drop restrictions on women
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Taliban Bar Women From NGOs, Threatening to Worsen Crisis

Christina GoldbaumSafiullah Padshah and 
The New York Times
Dec. 25, 2022

A letter from Afghanistan’s Ministry of Economy warned that it would revoke the operating licenses of any organizations that defied the decree.

The Afghan government on Saturday barred women from working in local and international humanitarian organizations, officials said, a move that threatens billions of dollars of aid that has kept Afghanistan from the brink of starvation amid an economic collapse.

The ban is the latest blow to women’s rights under a Taliban administration that appears to value eradicating women from public life over keeping the country from plunging further into a dire humanitarian catastrophe that risks the lives of millions of Afghans.

The edict, announced in a letter from the Ministry of Economy and confirmed to The New York Times by the ministry’s spokesman, warned that the ministry would revoke the operating licenses of any organizations that did not comply. It was unclear whether the ban would apply to the United Nations’ aid agencies, and to all women or only Afghan nationals working in aid organizations.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement that the U.N. would seek to meet with Taliban leadership to receive further clarity on the edict.

Since the Western-backed government collapsed last year and the economy crashed practically overnight, Afghanistan’s longstanding malnutrition crisis drastically worsened. Across the country, millions of Afghans lost their jobs; the price of food soared beyond many families’ reach; and emaciated children flooded malnutrition clinics.

Today, nearly 20 million people — more than half of the population — are facing potentially life-threatening levels of food insecurity, according to a U.N. analysis. Of those, six million people are nearing famine.

Over the past year, billions of dollars in aid from humanitarian groups have kept the country from the brink of mass starvation, providing free food to millions of families that would otherwise go hungry and offering lifesaving medical care to millions of malnourished children.

Many humanitarian aid organizations consider the move barring female staff a red line in Taliban governance that could shut down their operations throughout the country, as donors and decision makers balk at the open discrimination against women in their ranks, according to aid workers.

Closing operations would effectively destroy Afghanistan’s aid ecosystem and sever a lifeline for the record 28.3 million Afghans — or two-thirds of the population — expected to need some form of humanitarian assistance next year, aid workers say.

Even for groups that remain in Afghanistan, the loss of women humanitarian workers could seriously hinder the delivery of aid, particularly to women in need. In many parts of the country, women typically only interact with men in their family and would be unable to directly receive aid — like food parcels or medical care — from male aid workers.

Hours after the decree was announced, a few international aid groups were discussing immediately suspending their operations in the country until further notice. John Morse, country director for DACAAR, a Danish nonprofit, said he would close his office on Sunday to discuss the consequences of the ban with his senior leadership.

“I think the big discussion is solidarity” among N.G.O.s and trying to press the Afghan government to reverse the decree, he said.

The edict comes less than a week after the Afghan government barred women from attending private and public universities, crushing the hopes of millions of girls who have watched as the rights they grew up with under American occupation have been slowly erased since the Western-backed government collapsed. In March, the new government also reneged on promises to allow girls to attend public high schools.

The moves further signaled that the Taliban’s leadership has cast aside any intent to moderate, and is determined to reinstitute the hard-line rule that the group maintained during its first stretch in power, in the 1990s.

Both announcements also underscore how ideological hard-liners within the Taliban movement, including its supreme leader, Sheikh Haibatullah Akhundzada, have increasingly imposed their influence over those who have urged moderation in order to maintain engagement with the international community.

Stoking fears that the authorities plan to further roll back women’s rights, security forces in the capital, Kabul, this week held meetings with school principals, teachers and administrators of private education centers, instructing them to shut down their winter courses for all girls — including those in primary schools — and send home their female teachers, according to six education professionals across five districts in Kabul.

Schools are currently on winter break but many students have been attending supplementary courses at private schools and education centers before the spring semester begins next year.

When asked about the meetings, a spokesman for the Ministry of Education denied other reports that the government had officially banned girls from attending primary schools. But the meetings raised fears that the Afghan government may be laying the groundwork to further restrict girls’ education next year.

Taken together, the bans on women in higher education and Saturday’s ban on employment in N.G.O.s were a heartbreaking blow to women across the country, many of whom had worked to carve out a public role for themselves in Afghan society after the Taliban’s first regime was toppled in 2001.

For many Afghan women working for aid groups, their jobs were a testament to that two-decade-long fight. But their incomes have also become a lifeline for their families amid the economic crash and widespread joblessness.

“I am in shock,” said Maghfira Ahmadi, who works in the financial and administrative department of Doctors Without Borders in Kunduz, a commercial hub in northern Afghanistan.

Ms. Ahmadi said she is the sole breadwinner for her family since the Western-backed government collapsed last year and the new government stopped paying the pension of her father, who is a retired public-school teacher.

“I am very worried about the future,” she said. “I used to pay for everything for my family with my salary, but I don’t know what will happen to us.”

Christina Goldbaum is a correspondent in the Kabul, Afghanistan, bureau. 

Najim Rahim is a reporter in the Kabul, Afghanistan, bureau.

Taliban Bar Women From NGOs, Threatening to Worsen Crisis
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Muttaqi: Clashes in Borders Not in Anyone’s Interest

Speaking at a conference in Kabul on Sunday, Muttaqi said Kabul considers Islamabad a friendly neighbor. 

Following clashes along the Durand Line between Afghan and Pakistani forces, Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said that tensions along the Durand Line are not in the interest of any side and that relations between Kabul and Islamabad should be based on principles.

Speaking at a conference in Kabul on Sunday, Muttaqi said Kabul considers Islamabad a friendly neighbor.

“Clash between our border forces and yours is neither in your interest nor in ours. Making trouble on the Durand Line is neither in your interest nor in ours. I look upon you as a brother and a Muslim. Look at us with the same eyes. Do business with us in the light of principles, and have relations with us based on principles,” Muttaqi said.

Pakistani officials have not said anything about Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister’s remarks.

But Pakistan’s foreign minister recently said that Washington is eager to support Islamabad in keeping Pakistan secure from attacks “coming across the Afghan border.”

Dawn reported that Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that the United States is willing to provide Pakistan funds to enhance border security for preventing cross-border attacks from Afghanistan.

According to the report, Zardari said that during his visit to the US Congress last week, two senior senators, Bob Menendez from New Jersey and Lindsey Graham from South Carolina, told him that they were provided “funding in the 2023 budget to help us with border security”.

Political experts said the only solution to remove the tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan is through understanding and dialogue.

“The policy of constructive engagement is what is the urgent and fundamental need now for both nations, for Pakistan as well as for the current government and the people of Afghanistan,” said Sayed Mustafa Murtazawi, a political analyst.

“Mutual respect between nations, no interference in social, political, or economic affairs of another country and good relations between two countries are always the solution to all problems,” said Abdul Jamil Shirani, a political analyst.

In the last month, there have been two border clashes at the Spin Boldak-Chaman crossing between Pakistani border guards and Islamic Emirate forces that have resulted in casualties and financial losses for both sides.

Muttaqi: Clashes in Borders Not in Anyone’s Interest
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Male Students Boycott Classes over Ban on Women’s Education

The students called on the Islamic Emirate to remove the ban on higher education for women.

Male students from various universities in the country have boycotted their classes over the suspension of higher education for women in Afghanistan, saying they will not return until classes are opened for female students.

The students called on the Islamic Emirate to remove the ban on higher education for women.

“We will continue our boycott and if the female classes are not reopened, we will also boycott our lessons and will not continue education,” said Muzamel, a student.

“Universities are closed for our sisters. We don’t want to go to university either,” said Nawidullah, another student.

“My two sisters are also pursuing higher education, but due to the closure of institutions, I will not continue as well,” said Mohebullah, a student said.

A number of lecturers at Kabul University also asked the Islamic Emirate to reconsider its decision.

“We ask the Islamic Emirate to reopen universities for our sisters,” said Tawfiqullah, a university lecturer.

“We came to such a conclusion to show our protest to the decision against our sisters,” said Masihullah, a university lecturer.

In reaction to Islamic Emirate’s decision, some residents of Kabul asked the government to reopen universities as soon as possible.

“The closure of universities, schools and religious schools is really unfortunate,” said Asma, a resident of Kabul.

“Afghanistan will not become prosperous if universities are closed and girls are deprived of schooling,” said Siyar, a Kabul resident.

Five days ago, the Ministry of Higher Education announced the suspension of higher education for women in the country until the next announcement. The decision sparked reactions within and outside the country.

Male Students Boycott Classes over Ban on Women’s Education
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Islamic Emirate’s Ban on Women’s Jobs Faces Widespread Reactions

Norway’s Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeld “strongly condemned” the decision and called for its immediate reversal.

The Ministry of Economy in a statement on Saturday ordered all national and international non-government organizations to suspend their female staff members until the next announcement.

The announcement of the Islamic Emirate faced widespread reactions at national and international levels.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a tweet expressed deep concerns about the Islamic Emirate decision’s ban on women’s jobs and said “this decision could be devastating for the Afghan people, women are central to humanitarian operations around the world.”

US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West said the Islamic Emirate has forgotten its real responsibilities to its people.

“The Taliban’s decree barring women from working to deliver humanitarian aid is profoundly irresponsible. It poses mortal risks to millions who depend on life-saving assistance,” West said.

“The Secretary-General is deeply disturbed by the reported order of the de facto Taliban authorities banning women from working for national and international non-governmental organizations,” United Nations said in a statement.

This comes as the suspension of higher education for female students was announced late Tuesday by the Ministry of Higher Education, a decision that sparked widespread reactions at national and international levels.

“Women no longer allowed to work for NGOs; another outrageous act against women, including all those that depend on them through fundamental and self-sacrificing NGO work. The ones who suffer are, once again, the helpers and their beneficiaries, i.e., the weakest and most in need,” said Germany’s embassy for Afghanistan.

Norway’s Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeld “strongly condemned” the decision and called for its immediate reversal.

“I strongly condemn the ban on female employees of NGOs in Afghanistan. This decision must be reversed immediately. Norway will review the situation with its partners and issue an appropriate response,” she said.

“We condemn the Taliban’s decision to ban women from working for NGOs and international organizations. It goes against humanitarian principles, further marginalizes women and girls, and impacts the poorest Afghans. We call on the Taliban to reverse this decision,” Australia’s embassy for Afghanistan

Islamic Emirate’s Ban on Women’s Jobs Faces Widespread Reactions
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