At least six major foreign humanitarian groups have said they are temporarily suspending their activities in Afghanistan after the Taliban barred female NGO workers from coming to work, CNN reported..

“We cannot work effectively with the children, women and men who desperately need our protection in Afghanistan without our female staff.. While we seek clarity on this ban, we are suspending our programs, demanding that men and women can equally continue our work to save lives in Afghanistan,” Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council and CARE International said in a joint statement..

Another aid group, the International Rescue Committee, said more than 3,000 of the more than 8,000 people working in Afghanistan are women..

"

Afghanaid also suspended its work in Afghanistan following the Taliban's move, while Islamic Relief said it was forced to "

According to a letter from the Ministry of Economy to all licensed non-governmental organizations, the Taliban administration on Saturday ordered all local and international non-governmental organizations to ban their female employees from coming to work.. Failure to comply will result in the licenses of these public organizations being revoked, the ministry said..

“The Supreme Leader is doing everything possible… to make women as disenfranchised as possible, even if there are other authorities who claim otherwise.”. Taliban don't care. They want women to be as restricted as possible, especially the Supreme Leader wants,” Afghan rights activist Pashtana Durrani told CNN Sunday..

David Wright, chief operating officer of Save the Children International, said Monday the organization has failed to "

“We can’t go to work because we need our colleagues to help us access women and children. You can't access young mothers or young children if you don't have a female staff because it is not acceptable in Afghanistan to have an all-male staff looking after young women or children,” he said..

[see_also ids\u003d"

The new restrictions mark another step in the Taliban's brutal crackdown on the freedom of Afghan women following the takeover of the country by an Islamist group in August 2021..

Last week, the Taliban government suspended university education for all Afghan female students..