KABUL, June 23 (Reuters) - Taliban authorities in Afghanistan's Kandahar province ordered female aid workers this week to stop work on a refugee project, according to an official letter, reinforcing rules against women working despite exemptions sought by some organisations.
The letter underscored the uncertainty of the operating environment in Afghanistan for aid agencies who say they intend to stay and deliver aid during a humanitarian crisis but seek exemptions to let female staff work, to reach female beneficiaries and avoid breaching UN charter principles.
The Taliban administration signalled in January it would work on a set of written guidelines that could allow aid groups to operate with female staff in some cases, but it has not yet done so.
The Norwegian Refugee Council, an international NGO, in May said it had received exemptions for many of its operations in Kandahar and was resuming work with female staff.
The Taliban's restrictions on women aid workers and access to education have been widely criticized by the international community.
Persons:
Haibatullah Akhundzada, Charlotte Greenfield, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Peter Graff
Organizations:
Reuters, Department of Refugees, United Nations, Norwegian Refugee Council, NRC, Diplomats, Thomson
Locations:
KABUL, Afghanistan's Kandahar, Kandahar, Spin, Pakistan, Afghanistan, United States