Foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) developed countries and several other Western democracies on December 29 called on Afghanistan's Taliban rulers to "urgently reverse" a ban on women working in the war-wracked country's aid sector.
The interdiction is the latest blow to women's rights in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in August2021 following the withdrawal of U.S.-led international forces.
The hard-line Islamist group also barred women from attending universities earlier this month, triggering a wave of global outrage and protests in some Afghan cities. The Taliban had already barred teenage girls from attending secondary school.
The G7 ministers along with those of Australia, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, and Netherlands said in a joint statement they were "gravely concerned that the Taliban's reckless and dangerous order...puts at risk millions of Afghans who depend on humanitarian assistance for their survival.
"We call on the Taliban to urgently reverse this decision," they said in the statement issued by Britain's Foreign Office.
"Women are absolutely central to humanitarian and basic needs operations. Unless they participate in aid delivery in Afghanistan, NGOs will be unable to reach the country's most vulnerable people to provide food, medicine, winterization, and other materials and services they need to live," the statement said.
The G7 consists of the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Britain. Additionally, the European Union is a "non-enumerated member" of the group.
The United Nations said on December 28 that some "time-critical" aid programs in Afghanistan have stopped due to the ban on female aid workers and warned that many other activities will also likely need to be paused.
The United Nations and several key aid groups said in a joint statement that women's "participation in aid delivery is not negotiable and must continue," calling on the Taliban-led administration to reverse its decision.
Six aid groups have already suspended operations in Afghanistan in response to the ban. The groups include Christian Aid, ActionAid, Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council, and CARE.
The International Rescue Committee, which provides emergency help in health, education, and other areas and employs 3,000 women throughout Afghanistan, also said it was suspending services.
Women have also been fired from many government jobs, prevented from traveling without a male relative, and ordered to cover up outside of the home.