Afghanistan: from bad to terrible

The Secretary General of the Norwegian Council for Refugees, Jan Egeland, is in war-torn Afghanistan to persuade the Taliban to lift the ban on Afghan women working in national and international organisations.

– Meetings went well at ministerial level in Kabul. I agree with us, but there is disagreement within the Taliban, says Neil Turner, country manager of the Norwegian Council for Refugees in Afghanistan, before continuing:

– We are working on the case and we hope that Jan (Egeland) will meet some of the key people of the Taliban movement in Kandahar in the coming days. And that the women, on whom we are completely dependent, go back to work.

Millions without help

Still on Christmas Eve, the Taliban surprised the whole world with a new ban: women are no longer allowed to work in national or international organizations. The Norwegian Refugee Council, Save the Children and other humanitarian organizations have therefore halted their relief work in Afghanistan and millions of people are now without vital aid.

– We are completely dependent on our female employees. They are the ones who reach out to vulnerable women and their children. Without our female employees, we wouldn’t reach 75% of those we help: Women and children. Therefore, our operation has been suspended and Jan Egeland is here to negotiate, says Turner.

The population of Afghanistan is approximately 40 million. Of these, more than half, some 24 million Afghans, are in need of help. A large part of Afghan families are widows or single parents with children, who are now very vulnerable due to the new occupation ban imposed by the Taliban.

– There are now about 75 percent, or 16 to 17 million women and children, who we don’t reach, Turner says.

Deceived

However, the country manager is confident and points out that Jan Egeland and the Taliban know each other well. Egeland was also in Afghanistan when the Taliban last ruled in the late 1990s. Then as Deputy Foreign Minister of Norway.

– The Taliban know that we have worked neutrally and well in the areas controlled by the Taliban for the past 20 years. We built their schools and Taliban commanders sent their daughters to our schools, Turner says.

She points out that the Taliban promised the world that girls and women would be educated and allowed to work when they took power in August 2021.

– Promises are broken. There is disagreement within the Taliban and we have been deceived. Therefore, it is impossible for us to work now, but we hope that the ban will be lifted, says Turner.

– The Taliban want to kill my family

Opening for teachers

The Norwegian Refugee Council, Save the Children, the International Rescue Committee, the Danish Refugee Council and Care are working together to put pressure on the Taliban, and are receiving positive signals. Organizations operating in the health sector must, among other things, have obtained an agreement with the Ministry of Health to allow female health workers back to work.

– The Ministry of Education has told us that women can work as teachers again, but in our education programs we not only have female teachers, but also managers and people who work with logistics, finance and more. We don’t start our programs until we are confident that all of our women can work safely, Turner says.

Over the past 30 years he has worked as an aid worker in war and crisis areas such as Afghanistan, South Sudan, East and West Africa, the Balkans and Iraq.

– We want to continue the work in Afghanistan, as we do with challenging regimes and armed opposition groups in many places around the world. But we need to get our female employees back to work, she says.

From bad to awful

Turner started as country manager in Afghanistan nearly five months after the Taliban took over.

– I arrived in February and the opening of the schools was supposed to take place in March. Only at the last minute did they announce that girls could no longer attend secondary school. It was quite a shock, she says.

In November last year, a ban on women in public came into force. In early December, women could no longer attend universities until a ban on working for national and international organizations was enacted on Christmas Eve.

– It’s terrible, shocking and completely ridiculous. So now Jan is here to explain that we are now no longer allowed to help more than 50% of the population, Turner says and continues:

– Let’s hope it works. This is the first time I have been in a situation where women are not allowed to work for an organisation. It’s new and shocking and heartbreaking, she says.

– Mora is devastated

One reason for the new work ban is said to be that the organizations’ employees did not follow the Taliban’s dress and behavior codes.

– It is not true. We follow their guidelines and advise women to wear hijab. When the women go the distance, they also have a male protector with them. We also have separate offices for men and women, so this seemed like an excuse to introduce a rule that someone had wanted, Turner says.

Turner and Egeland also had meetings with female employees of the Norwegian Refugee Council on Wednesday. Many of them are single parents in families.

– Their entire livelihood is threatened. One woman told us she has a nine-year-old daughter who constantly wondered what she was going to do after elementary school, since school is now off-limits for girls, Turner says and continues:

– The mother is devastated to have to have such a conversation with her daughter. Now the situation is even worse. The mother risks losing her job, the only income of the family. The pressure on Afghan women — and men — is now even worse than before, Turner says.

– Continuously cruel

There was another suicide attack in the heart of Kabul on Wednesday. At least five people have been confirmed killed. A spokesman for the Taliban government’s information ministry says at least 20 people were killed in the operation that the IS extremist group says it is behind, according to a statement.

– The security situation is continuously deteriorating, with a series of attacks on embassies and hotels used by foreign nationals, at worst. Mainly towards international staff. That’s why it’s even more important to have Afghan personnel — and women — to help, Turner says.

In the coming days, Egeland, Turner and others will travel to Kandahar to meet with Taliban leaders for further meetings.

– Egeland is a prominent person, so we are the best organization to push for the changes for the better now. With the decision of December 24, the last red line was crossed. The employment ban on our female employees prevents us from working and must be lifted, Turner says.