3 NGOs suspend work in Afghanistan after Taliban bar women

RIAZAT BUTT

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Three major international aid groups on Sunday suspended their operations in Afghanistan following a decision by the country’s Taliban rulers to ban women from working at non-governmental organizations. Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council and CARE said they cannot effectively reach children, women and men in desperate need in Afghanistan without their female staff. The NGO ban was introduced a day earlier, allegedly because women weren’t wearing the Islamic headscarf correctly.