UN aid chief to visit Afghanistan in the coming weeks

World body actively working to reverse Taliban's ban on female aid workers

The visit follows a Taliban announcement of a ban on female aid workers and comes on the heels of a law that has barred women from attending university. Reuters

Martin Griffiths, the UN's aid chief, is scheduled to visit Afghanistan in the coming weeks and will seek to hold high-level meetings with the Taliban, a UN official announced on Thursday.

“We obviously will seek to meet with the highest possible authorities and we have already engaged with all of them at the highest levels,” Ramiz Alakbarov, deputy special representative of the UN Secretary General, told reporters.

The visit follows a Taliban announcement on Saturday of a ban on female aid workers and comes on the heels of a law that has barred women from attending university.

Mr Alakbarov reaffirmed the UN commitment's to providing humanitarian support and reiterated the importance of dialogue.

“Engagement is necessary, sustained engagement is necessary, sustained dialogue is necessary … there is no alternative to dialogue,” he said.

He also pointed out that the situation in Afghanistan is probably one of the most difficult he has seen in his “30-year career.”

Afghan women living under Taliban rule — in pictures

Women wash freshly dyed silk in a factory in Herat province. Whether Afghan girls receive an education under the Taliban is turning into an issue of wealth, young women living under the regime say. AFP

Afghan women walk in a Kandahar market. Even if Afghan girls can receive an education, the likelihood they will be able to put it to any use is low. AFP

An Afghan women weaves silk to make scarfs and other products inside a workshop in the Zandajan district of Herat province. Many Afghan girls fear the longer they stay away from school, the more pressure will build to conform to patriarchal standards and marry. AFP

Burqa-clad women work in a shampoo factory in Kandahar. AFP

Women make flatbread in a factory in Kandahar. AFP

An Afghan woman begs as Taliban fighters stand guard in Kabul. Amnesty International says the Taliban have breached women's and girls' rights to education, work and free movement since they took control of the government. EPA

Afghan women take a selfie at a park in Kabul. The rates of child, early and forced marriage in Afghanistan are increasing under Taliban rule, Amnesty International has said. EPA

Afghan girls paint at a workshop class in Herat. The World Bank estimates that for each year of secondary education, the likelihood of marrying before the age of 18 decreases by five percentage points or more. AFP

Afghan women protest in Kabul. The lives of Afghan women and girls are being destroyed by the Taliban’s crackdown on their human rights, Amnesty has said. AP

An Afghan woman walks in a graveyard in Kabul. EPA

Shgofe, an Afghan newscaster, presents a programme on private channel 1TV in Kabul. Female TV presenters and reporters in Afghanistan continue to appear with their faces covered to comply with a mandate issued by the Taliban. EPA

An Afghan family walk past a market near the Pul-e Khishti Mosque in Kabul. AFP

People at Wazir Akbar Khan Hill in Kabul. Whether Afghan girls receive an education under the Taliban is turning into an issue of wealth, young women living under the regime say. AFP

Women browse through garments and fabrics for sale in a stall at a women's handicraft market in Herat. AFP

Brides wait for the start of a mass wedding in Kabul. Dozens of Afghan women, concealed in thick green shawls, were married off in an austere ceremony attended by hundreds of guests and gun-toting Taliban fighters. AFP

Mr Alakbarov noted humanitarian needs in Afghanistan were “enormous” and the UN was committed to delivering help.

He said the UN was actively working to have the ban reversed and noted that concerns about modesty and the mixing of the genders could be addressed through dialogue without directly threatening education or livelihoods.

In a joint statement on Wednesday, Mr Griffiths and other heads of UN agencies called on the Taliban to reverse its decision to restrict women from working with NGOs and insisted that women's “participation in aid delivery is not negotiable and must continue”.

“Banning women from humanitarian work has immediate, life-threatening consequences for all Afghans,” read a statement signed by the heads of the World Food Programme, the World Health Organisation, the UN Development Programme, the UN children's fund and the high commissioners for refugees and human rights.

“We foresee that many activities will need to be paused as we cannot deliver principled humanitarian assistance without female aid workers.”