The United Nations is ready to take the ‘heartbreaking’ decision to pull out of Afghanistan in May if it can’t persuade the Taliban to let local women work for the organization, the head of the U.N. Development Program said.
U.N. officials are negotiating with the Afghan government in the hope that it will make exceptions to an edict this month barring local women from U.N. work, UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner told The Associated Press.
“It is fair to say that where we are right now is the entire United Nations system having to take a step back and reevaluating its ability to operate there,” Steiner said. “But it’s not about negotiating fundamental principles, human rights.”
The Taliban have allowed Afghan women to engage in some work, Steiner said, and a U.N. report released Tuesday shows that the country desperately needs more women working, with its economy flailing.
Whilst the report points to some encouraging signs (a rise in exports, an expected eight percent increase in domestic fiscal revenue, stabilization of the exchange rate, and a reduction in inflation), it explains that this is largely down to the large-scale international aid funding ($3.7 billion in 2022, $3.2 billion of which was provided by the UN) sent to Afghanistan in 2022.
This does not point to a lasting recovery: income per person is expected to decline this year and in 2024: UNDP modelling suggests that, if aid drops by 30 per cent, inflation could reach 10 percent in 2024, and average incomes could fall by 40 per cent. Any reduction in international aid will worsen the economic prospects of Afghanistan, and extreme poverty will perpetuate for decades: the UN aid appeal of $4.6 billion for international assistance in 2023 is therefore the minimum required to help Afghans in need.
“Not possible to achieve growth and reduce poverty without women”
Surayo Buzurukova, the UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Afghanistan, told UN News that the Taliban’s decision to highly restrict women’s ability to study and work is an important reason for the economic woes of the country.
“We have run simulations to see how the removal of women from the workforce will affect the economy going forward,” said Ms. Buzurukova. “We calculated that it will not be possible to achieve growth and reduce poverty without women. That’s the message we try to deliver when we speak to the de facto authorities.”
Those economic problems mean more need in the country, but the U.N. has decided that human rights are non-negotiable and it will reduce its presence in May if the Taliban do not relent.
“I think there is no other way of putting it than heartbreaking,” Steiner said. “I mean, if I were to imagine the U.N. family not being in Afghanistan today, I have before me these images of millions of young girls, young boys, fathers, mothers, who essentially will not have enough to eat.”
The Taliban have refused to change their position, announced in December apparently on the orders of their reclusive leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada. Women make up about a third of employees of locally hired aid agency staff and are also seen as most vulnerable to any aid reductions. The edict also limited women’s access to education.
Hopes for some common sense prevail
This month the Taliban took a step further in the restrictive measures they have imposed on women and said that female Afghan staffers employed with the U.N. mission can no longer report for work.
“This is a very fundamental moment that we’re approaching,” Steiner said. “And obviously our hope and expectation is that there will be some common sense prevailing.”
No country has recognized the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, and the country’s seat at the U.N. is held by the former government of President Ashraf Ghani.
The 3,300 Afghans employed by the U.N. — 2,700 men and 600 women — have stayed home since April 12 but continue to work and will be paid, Dujarric has said. The U.N.’s 600 international staff, including 200 women, is not affected by the Taliban ban.
The potential withdrawal comes amid predictions that the departure of the UN and other agencies could affect women and children most.
A report from the International Crisis Group in February said women and girls often received the smallest share of food in Afghan families and were more vulnerable to malnutrition and disease.
It also voiced concerns about the long-term impact of aid groups and others withdrawing. “If they leave, international actors may have a hard time coming back to Afghanistan in the future,” it said.
Sources: Guardian, UN News, AP
