Taliban bans female UN workers

Apr 5 2023 The Guardian

The Taliban seem determined to repeat the mistakes they made the last time they were in government. They did promise to be more liberal, but the pull of ideology just seems to be too strong.

‘No work for women, they should wear the burka and stay at home. What do they need university education for? Well, what do they need school for? No need to go to the park, or the gym, or anywhere, stay at home.’

And now, ban women from working for the UN.

The simple fact is that, without local female staff the UN cannot deliver aid to those who need it most. At the moment the situation in Afghanistan is bad, but not bad enough for the Taliban not to make life harder and alienate the population further.

How long can the Taliban go on like this, is anyone’s guess. But one day this will reach a tipping point and then they either have to come to their senses, or face some kind of unrest in the country. And unrest in Afghanistan is not something to look forward to.

The Taliban would be wise to remember that “history doesn’t teach anyone anything — it only punishes for lessons not learnt.”