Girls go to primary school in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 9, 2022. Photo: AFP/VNA

Afghanistan's Taliban-run administration on December 24 ordered female employees of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were not allowed to work until further notice.

The 15-member UN security council said it was “deeply alarmed” by the increasing restrictions on women’s education, calling for “the full, equal, and meaningful participation of women and girls in Afghanistan”.

It urged the Taliban “to reopen schools and swiftly reverse these policies and practices, which represents an increasing erosion for the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms”.  

High commissioner for human rights, Volker Turk, said that banning women from working in NGOs would strip families of crucial incomes as well as “significantly impair, if not destroy” organisations’ capacity to deliver essential services, calling it all the more distressing with Afghanistan in the grip of winter, when humanitarian needs are at their highest.

Western countries said they only recognized the Taliban if women and young girls’ rights in Afghanistan are respected.