Taliban threatens orgs employing women in Afghanistan

The United Nations criticized the move on Tuesday, saying authorities are trying to exclude half the population from public life. The Taliban’s Economy Ministry on Sunday warned it could close any national or foreign nongovernmental group in Afghanistan that employs women. The statement followed earlier warnings—two years ago, Taliban officials told Nongovernmental organizations to suspend the employment of Afghan women. The latest order says the organizations will lose their license to operate in the country if they do not comply. NGOs provide life-saving support to people in Afghanistan and it is important that women be included in that work, said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk.

What other controversial measures have been introduced in Afghanistan? Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhudzada on Saturday ordered that buildings should not have windows looking into neighboring properties occupied by women. Homeowners with residences that violate the rules must block the offending windows. Windows of new and existing buildings, cannot face courtyards or living spaces of adjacent residences, according to the decree.

Dig deeper: Listen to Mary Muncy’s report in The World and Everything in It about the Taliban’s efforts to silence women.