Aid chief: Taliban decrees against women paralysing NGO work

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban's “internal debates and extreme decrees” are paralysing humanitarian work in Afghanistan, the head of a major aid agency told The Associated Press on Sunday, after he arrived on a week-long trip to talk to Taliban leaders about reversing a ban on women working for national and international non-governmental groups.

Jan Egeland, the secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, is the first NGO chief to visit Afghanistan for talks with the Taliban since the ban came into effect more than two weeks ago.

Authorities have barred Afghan women from working at NGOs, allegedly because they weren't wearing the Islamic headscarf correctly.

The ban follows a slew of moves that have severely limited or suspended women's rights and education.

Aid groups, foreign governments, and the United Nations say women are vital for the delivery of lifesaving assistance in Afghanistan and are calling for the ban's reversal.

Many groups have suspended their operations, warning of dire and deadly consequences for a population already battered by decades of war, deteriorating living conditions and economic hardship.

The Norwegian Refugee Council says it has worked in Afghanistan since 2003 and employs 470 women.

It helped more than 840,000 people last year and was intending to help 700,000 this year, the group said.

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