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Christian Aid on Monday became the fifth foreign INGOs to suspend operations in Afghanistan after the country's Taliban rulers ordered all NGOs and INGOs to stop women staff from working.
The UK charity was "rapidly seeking clarity on this announcement and urging the authorities to reverse the ban", head of global programmes Ray Hasan said in a statement.
"Whilst we do this, we are unfortunately pausing the work of our programmes," he added.
The announcement came after a joint statement on Sunday from Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council and CARE.
The International Rescue Committee, which provides emergency response in health, education and other areas and employs 3,000 women across Afghanistan, also said it was suspending services.
"Millions of people in Afghanistan are on the verge of starvation," Hasan said.
"Reports that families are so desperate they have been forced to sell their children to buy food are utterly heartbreaking," he said, adding that a ban on female aid workers would "only curtail our ability to help the growing number of people in need."
The ban on women working is the latest blow against women's rights in Afghanistan since the Taliban reclaimed power last year.
Less than a week ago, the hardline Islamists also barred women from attending universities, prompting global outrage and protests in some Afghan cities.
On Sunday, three INGOs, including Save the Children, announced they were suspending their operations in Afghanistan after the Taliban ordered all NGOsor INGOs to stop their women staff from working.
The announcement came as top officials from the United Nations and dozens of INGOs operating in Afghanistan met in Kabul to discuss a way ahead after the Taliban’s latest restriction delivered a blow to humanitarian work across the country.
“We cannot effectively reach children, women and men in desperate need in Afghanistan without our female staff,” Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council and CARE said in a joint statement.
“Whilst we gain clarity on this announcement, we are suspending our programmes, demanding that men and women can equally continue our lifesaving assistance in Afghanistan.”
Saturday’s order issued by the Taliban authorities drew swift international condemnation, with governments and organisations warning of the impact on humanitarian services in a country where millions rely on aid.
The latest restriction comes less than a week after the hardline Islamists banned women from attending universities, prompting global outrage and protests in some Afghan cities.
The Ministry of Economy on Saturday threatened to suspend the operating licences of NGOSor INGOs if they failed to implement the order.
The ministry, which issues these licences, said it had received “serious complaints” that women working in NGOs or INGOs were not observing a proper Islamic dress code.
A meeting of the Humanitarian Country Team, which comprises top UN officials and representatives of dozens of Afghan and foreign INGOs was being held in Kabul to discuss whether to suspend all aid work following the latest Taliban directive, aid officials told AFP.
The United Nations condemned the ministry’s directive and said it would seek an explanation from the Taliban about the order, which by excluding women “systematically from all aspects of public and political life takes the country backwards, jeopardising efforts for any meaningful peace or stability in the country”.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the ban would be “devastating” to Afghans as it would “disrupt vital and life-saving assistance to millions”.
Hell for women
“I’m the only breadwinner of my family. If I lose my job my family of 15 members will die of hunger,” said Shabana, 24, a woman employee with an international NGO working in Afghanistan for decades.
“While the world is celebrating the arrival of the new year, Afghanistan has become a hell for women.”
The ministry said women working in INGOs were not observing “the Islamic hijab and other rules and regulations pertaining to the work of females in national and international organisations”.
But women employees AFP spoke to dismissed the charge.
