UN to continue keeping Afghan staff at home over Taliban ban on women

The United Nations said on Friday it will continue to keep Afghan staff working from home after the Taliban administration began enforcing a ban on Afghan women working for the world body a month ago.
The United Nations has some 3,300 Afghan staff, of whom about 400 are female, while about 600 international staff in the country are not affected by the ban. The UN had said it would review its operations and keep Afghan staff home until May 5.
Deputy U.N. spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Friday there had been no change to “our posture on the ground.”
“We’re working to come to decisions on appropriate working modalities,” Haq told reporters in New York. “Obviously, we have a challenge because the needs of the Afghan people are immense, and we intend to fulfill those needs, but at the same time, our operations are clearly impeded.”
The Afghan people are in for a “very difficult year ahead,” the top U.S. aid official warned this week, as donors grapple with challenging a Taliban administration crackdown on women and girls, more crises around the world, and less funding overall.