NEW YORK: The United Nations (UN) envoy in Afghanistan Roza Otunbayeva has warned that a Taliban administration clampdown on women’s rights is likely to lead to a drop in development and assistance funding in the country, Western media reported on Wednesday.
UN Envoy for Afghanistan
She said that the UN has made its single-largest country help appeal ever, demanding for $4.6 billion in the current year to deliver support in Afghanistan. The UN Representative told the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) that providing that help has been put at risk by Taliban authority bans on girls’ education, working with aid groups and visiting parks.
Roza Otunbayeva expressed fear that funding and assistance for Kabul is likely to drop if women and girls were not permitted to work. She added that if the amount of help is declined, then the amount of US dollar cash shipments needed to support that help will also reduce. The UN envoy said that talks about supplying more development-style assistance for things like policies to combat climate change or small infrastructure projects had stopped over the bans. The Taliban, which seized power in August 2021 as US forces withdrew from the war-hit Afghanistan following 20 years of war, says it respects women’s rights in accordance with country’s law.
