Taliban rescinds order forcing Kabul bakery closures

The Taliban movement in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Thursday rescinded an order for women to stop working in 24 WFP-supported women’s bakeries in the city. Wednesday’s order by the Taliban authorities had forced the temporary closure of the bakeries, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday that last month’s edict on the employment of women did not apply to these bakeries, WFP spokesman Khaled Mansour told IRIN on Friday. “It’s a positive step from the Taliban authorities and we welcome it;these bakeries are very important in Kabul. We also hope it is a first step on the way to having the edict reversed,” Mansour said. The amended position of the Taliban was that the edict did not apply to the female workers in the bakeries in Kabul, which are staffed entirely by women, since they worked for a women’s cooperative supported by the WFP and not the agency directly, according to UN officials. The authorities in Kabul had accused the WFP of violating an edict issued in July which banned the employment of Afghan women by UN agencies and NGOs, except in the health sector. ‘Decree no 8’ of 5 July, which had been distributed to humanitarian agencies by Mawlawi Abdul Tawab Qazizada, Head of Foreign Relations of the Taliban, stated that “the employment of female staff within foreign and non-governmental agencies has opened the way for immorality, which has practically begun and continues.” It ordered the Ministry of Planning and other relevant departments to ban women working in these agencies, except in the health sector, “as needed” and according to certain conditions. The United Nations’ top humanitarian official cautiously welcomed the decision, but expressed her continued concern over an edict banning Afghan women from employment by the world body. A UN spokesman said Carolyn McAskie, the acting UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, welcomed the move but wanted to emphasize that at a time when poverty and suffering are increasing, constructive discussions are needed on how humanitarian support for vulnerable people can be expanded.” Spokesman Manoel de Almeida e Silva told reporters in New York that in particular, she would welcome suggestions from the authorities on “how to improve the access for humanitarian agencies to all vulnerable people in a culturally appropriate way that also corresponds with international humanitarian law and standards.” Women and children in Kabul are among the poorest people in Afghanistan, where socioeconomic conditions continue to be dire for the vast majority of the population. An estimated 28,000 widowed women in Kabul are particularly vunerable because households without an able-bodied man often rely on food aid, children’s work or begging to survive, according to UN sources.