Unknown men have threatened Afghan women working for the United Nations in Kabul because of their jobs, media sources stated.
Several women working for various UN agencies said, on condition of anonymity, that men had threatened them on the street and by phone, ordering them to “stay home.”
UN employee Huda – not her actual name – explained that she has been receiving messages insulting her for “collaborating with foreigners” for weeks.
“The messages just keep coming and they are always threatening us. telling us, ‘Don’t let me see you again, or else’,” the young woman explained to AFP.
She explained that her office instructed her to work from home until it makes another decision.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) confirmed that unknown individuals had threatened UN employees.
“Some female United Nations national staff in the capital, Kabul, have received threats from unknown individuals regarding their activities with the UN,” it said in a statement.
Taking the threats “extremely serious,” the UN has taken “interim” actions “to guarantee the safety and security of staff members,” it added.
Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said the police would take action, calling such threats a “crime.”
UNAMA reported that the authorities had launched an investigation.
‘You are not allowed’
Since taking over in 2021, Taliban authorities have severely restricted Afghan women from working, making Afghanistan the only country in the world where authorities have prohibited women from receiving education beyond primary school.
In 2022, the government banned women from working for domestic and international NGOs and extended the ban to include the UN’s offices in the country a year later.
The policy includes exceptions for women employed in healthcare and education, though authorities have not implemented it widely.
The UN has in the past described the policy as “deeply discriminatory.”
