Tuesday, October 22

Aid chief says Taliban agree to think about permitting girls to renew company work in Kandahar

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The head of a serious help group stated Thursday that the Taliban have agreed to think about permitting Afghan girls to renew work on the company within the southern province of Kandahar, the spiritual and political heart for the nation’s rulers.

The Taliban final December barred Afghan girls from working at nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs, allegedly as a result of they weren’t sporting the hijab – the Islamic scarf – accurately or observing gender segregation guidelines. In April, they stated the ban prolonged to U.N. workplaces and businesses in Afghanistan. There are exemptions in some sectors, like well being care and training.

Jan Egeland, the secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, met officers within the capital Kabul and Kandahar to influence them to reverse the ban on the group’s feminine employees.



“We have an agreement to start immediate talks on a temporary arrangement that will enable our female colleagues to work with and for women and others in Kandahar,” Egeland instructed The Associated Press. “If we get a provincial exemption in Kandahar, we should be able to replicate it elsewhere.”

In January, the Taliban stated they have been engaged on tips for ladies to return to work at NGOs. Egeland stated earlier this week that key officers instructed him they’re near finalizing these tips. But they have been unable to present a timeline or particulars when pressed.

The short-term association can be in place whereas the nationwide tips are developed. The interim association would cowl all sectors and all programming by the Norwegian Refugee Council, he stated.

Aid businesses have been offering meals, training and well being care assist to Afghans within the wake of the Taliban takeover in August 2021 and the financial collapse that adopted it. But distribution has been severely impacted by December’s edict.

Egeland stated he made it clear to the Taliban that the company wants to have the ability to ship help because it did earlier than the ban, and with girls.

Years of humanitarian diplomacy in Afghanistan have paved the way in which for the constructive suggestions from Kandahar, with the Norwegian Refugee Council negotiating with the Taliban to supply training and aid in areas below their management through the warfare, he stated.

“They knew we never broke any rules in terms of Afghan culture, we go way back, but we have to be firm,” Egeland instructed the AP.

He insisted the group won’t make use of male-only groups or ship male-only help work.

Egeland stated there’s settlement inside the Ministry of Economy, which oversees NGOs in Afghanistan, {that a} regional deal may open a pathway to a nationwide one.

“I have a strong sense they understand that if aid operations are cut for a longer period, they may not come back. They realize time is running out.”

The Taliban have repeatedly instructed senior humanitarian officers visiting Afghanistan since December that the NGO restrictions are short-term suspensions, not a ban.

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