3 foreign aid groups suspend work in Afghanistan after Taliban bars women

Foreign aid groups suspend their operations in Afghanistan following a decision by the country’s Taliban rulers to ban women from working at international and local non-governmental organizations.

Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council and CARE, say they cannot effectively reach children, women and men in desperate need in Afghanistan without the women on their workforces. The NGO ban was introduced a day earlier, allegedly because women weren’t wearing the Islamic headscarf correctly.

“We have complied with all cultural norms and we simply can’t work without our dedicated female staff, who are essential for us to access women who are in desperate need of assistance,” Neil Turner, the The Norwegian Refugee Council’s chief for Afghanistan, tells The Associated Press. He says the group has 468 female staff in the country.