On Dec. 24 of last year, the Taliban — de facto rulers of Afghanistan since the United States and NATO withdrew forces from the country in August 2021 — announced that NGOs working in the country could no longer employ female staff.
The move prompted sharp condemnation from governments and aid organizations around the world, and threw the Afghanistan humanitarian relief operation into instant disarray.
That operation has been described as the largest on the planet by Martin Griffiths, head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. UNOCHA said recently that at least 28 million people in Afghanistan rely on humanitarian support — almost two-thirds of the population — and six million are one step away from famine. Much or most of that support is delivered by NGOs, many of which employ thousands of people. Several NGOs told Devex that more than half their staff are women, mostly local Afghans.
About the author
David Ainsworth@daveainsworth4
David Ainsworth is business editor at Devex, where he writes about finance and funding issues for development institutions. He was previously a senior writer and editor for magazines specializing in nonprofits in the U.K. and worked as a policy and communications specialist in the nonprofit sector for a number of years. His team specializes in understanding reports and data and what it teaches us about how development functions.
