The association British Christian Aid announced the suspension of its activities in Afghanistan, becoming the fifth NGO to announce this measure due to the ban on the employment of women in humanitarian work. “Christian Aid is rapidly seeking clarification on this announcement and is urging the authorities to lift this ban,” she said in a statement. Ray Hasan, regional director of Christian Aid. In the meantime, “we are sadly shutting down our programs,” he added. “Excluding women from humanitarian work will only reduce our ability to help the growing number of people in need and risks worsening the dire humanitarian crisis women and girls face,” she added. Moreover, this decision will deeply upset the families dependent on the income of aid workers in the context of the severe economic crisis in Afghanistan”.
The Christian Aid official stressed that “millions of people are on the verge of hunger” in the country, to the point that it was reported that the families “are so desperate that they have been forced to sell own children to buy food. Sunday, three NGOs – Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council and CARE International – jointly announced the suspension of their activities, before being joined by a fourth, the International Rescue Committee (IRC). The Afghan economy ministry on Saturday ordered all non-governmental organizations to stop working with women to do not risk the suspension of their operating license. It is unclear whether the directive also applies to foreign female NGO staff. The ministry said it made the decision after receiving “serious complaints” over failure to comply with the country’s mandated Islamic hijab. According to the United Nations and humanitarian agencies, more than half of the 38 million of the country’s inhabitants are in need of humanitarian assistance during the harsh winter.
