UNHCR shuts Afghan aid centers over women staff restrictions

Kabul [Afghanistan], September 14 (ANI): The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has closed several of its aid centres in Afghanistan, including those supporting Afghans returning from Pakistan and Iran, after the head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) urged the Taliban authorities to address the issue of restrictions on female staff, Tolo News reported.
Arafat Jamal, UNHCR's chief in Afghanistan, underlined that women's participation is essential for their operations.
"On the 9th of September, we took the decision to close our encashment centers. We didn't take this lightly and we knew that it would have consequences for many returnees. These centers are essential to distribute the initial cash that people receive, to register people biometrically, and to provide protection, screening, and interviews," he said.
Women's rights advocates have raised concerns that the clampdown on female participation will further damage Afghanistan's fragile economy and worsen the humanitarian crisis.
Tafsir Siahposh, a women's rights activist, told Tolo News: "We hope attention will be paid and women will be allowed to continue working as daughters of this nation, alongside their brothers, for the country that needs them. Women must be allowed to work."
Responding to the criticism, the Ministry of Economy of the Islamic Emirate rejected conditional assistance and criticised UN-affiliated organisations for linking aid to female employment.
Abdul Latif Nazari, deputy minister of economy, said: "The Ministry of Economy calls on all aid agencies, including UN-related organisations, to continue their assistance to the people of Afghanistan, especially our returning refugees, without attaching any conditions."
Earlier, Roza Otunbayeva, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative in Afghanistan, had also condemned the ban on female UN staff. She stressed that while efforts are underway to mobilize international support, restrictions on women's employment are "unacceptable and must be resolved," according to Tolo News.
Her remarks come at a time when the UNHCR has also warned that Pakistan's mass deportations of Afghan nationals risk worsening Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis without urgent global support.
Speaking in Geneva on September 12, UNHCR's representative for Afghanistan, Arafat Jamal, urged Islamabad to halt expulsions of vulnerable Afghans. He stressed that many asylum seekers require protection and said the agency was ready to work with Pakistani authorities to identify and safeguard high-risk groups.
According to UN figures, nearly 100,000 Afghans crossed back from Pakistan in the first week of September alone. The sudden influx is straining Afghanistan's already fragile economy, with weak healthcare, scarce food supplies and limited shelter unable to absorb such numbers.
International aid agencies have raised an alarm, warning that the return of large groups of refugees could push Afghanistan into deeper instability.
Jamal said the UNHCR has updated its regional appeal and is seeking USD 258.6 million to meet urgent needs. He cautioned that without fresh funding, the agency may not be able to continue life-saving assistance for Afghan families.
The crisis has been compounded by the Taliban's ban on women working in UN offices, forcing the UNHCR to suspend cash assistance for returnees. Jamal clarified that the suspension was an "operational necessity" as services cannot run without female staff.
The UN estimates that more than 2.6 million Afghan migrants have been deported from neighbouring countries since the beginning of 2025. The figure reflects the immense scale of forced displacement and the pressure on Pakistan to balance domestic concerns with international obligations.
Jamal warned that without coordinated regional and global action, both Pakistan and Afghanistan risk sliding into deeper humanitarian turmoil, Khamaa Press reported. (ANI)