KABUL (SW) – After the United Nations warned of the inability to provide humanitarian aid in Afghanistan without the presence of female employees, a number of citizens are worried about the closing of the United Nations offices.
Abdur Rahim, a resident of Ghor, who heads a family of 10, told Salam Watandar that in the past few months, he and his family have been able to continue living with the help of the United Nations. “I am the head of a family of 10 people. I am unemployed myself and in the past few months, we have benefited from the help of the United Nations. If this organization does not continue to help, I will face a problem in meeting the food needs of my family members.”
Abdul Jalil, a resident of Kunduz and the head of a family of five, said that in the past few months, he and his family have been able to survive only by receiving aid from the United Nations. Worried about the possibility of aid being cut off, he added: “I am the head of a family of five and I stand on the roads of Kunduz city for days for work, but there is no job. For the past few months, I have been receiving help from the United Nations. If these aids are cut off, it will be difficult to meet the food needs of my family.”
Similarly, Bashir Ahmad, a resident of Nangarhar, said that the residents of this province are also worried about the cutoff of the United Nations aid. “Before, the institutes gave us a lot of humanitarian aid, they helped with food and cash. Now, if these aids have been cut, and the economic situation of the people will get worse.”
Meanwhile, the officials of the Ministry of Economy say that the problem is only in Nangarhar and in other provinces, no restrictions have been created for the work of UN female employees.
Abdul Rahman Habib, the spokesman of the ministry, said that efforts are underway to provide a better basis for the United Nations’ activities in Afghanistan. “The problem is only in Nangarhar. In other provinces, there is no obstacle for the work of UN female employees, and the UN should help more in this bad economic situation of the Afghan people. Islamic Emirate is trying to provide a better basis for the activities of the United Nations in Afghanistan.”
According to a number of economic experts, the closure of the United Nations activities in Afghanistan will make the country’s economic situation worse. Taj Mohammad, an expert on economic issues, said: “Limiting the activities of the United Nations in Afghanistan will worsen the situation in Afghanistan. Dozens of people will be unemployed and most of the citizens will face food shortages. We ask the Islamic Emirate to resolve such problems through dialogue.”
The Islamic Emirate banned women from working in domestic and foreign non-governmental institutions last winter.
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