Taliban bans women from working in national or international NGOs

New Delhi: After the education ministry ban on girls' education, the Taliban Ministry of Economy directs all relevant departments to prevent Afghan women from working in any national or international NGO.

A circular has been issued, which has gone viral on social media.

@ObaidullaBasheer, a lecturer in Afghanistan, said in his tweet, "This was the redline for many international organisations; what impact would this have on #Afghanistan."

Tahmina @T-a-h-mina, in reply to the above tweet, said, "how devasting it may sound and be! It seems like it is either a civil war or turning into something worse than North Korea. With all the women being enslaved and erased from the public sphere."

Meanwhile, scattered protests by several women continue in Kabul and other cities of Afghanistan against the caretaker government's decision to suspend higher studies for women. Police used water cannons to disperse the protestors in Kabul.

Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA) supreme leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has said creating the proper environment for girls' education is the government's responsibility, and a ban on girls' education can bring harmful consequences.

Early this week, Private universities and institutions stopped the entry of women into their institutions. Owners of private educational institutions in Afghanistan said they received orders from the caretaker government that girls above 12 years of age are not allowed to attend classes.

"They told us that they have made the list of the institutions where students above 12 years of age were enrolled," said Hasibullah, a university lecturer.

The ruling Taliban government announced on Tuesday the closure of all public universities for women in Afghanistan, according to a letter by the higher education minister.

Secondary schools for girls have been closed for the past 460 days, while universities and tutoring centres were closed for women this week.

Students and their parents are concerned as their futures are at stake. Many families want to leave the country if the caretaker government does not reverse their orders soon.

Meanwhile, several voices, including religious scholars, have called on the Islamic Emirate to reopen schools and universities for women and girls. "From the perspective of Islam, men and women have the right to study, learn and educate.

It means they have the right to study and educate," said Ahmad Rahman Alizada, a religious cleric.

The international community, including the United Nations, has collectively condemned the Taliban's decision to ban women from universities and girls from school. The condemnations continue to pour in, appealing to the Afghan authorities to stop repression and abuses against women in Afghanistan.