Aid agencies including Save the Children have suspended operations in Afghanistan after the Taliban barred women from working for foreign non-governmental organisations.
On Sunday, after the hardline rulers warned organisations their operating licences will be suspended if they continue to employ women, Humanitarian Country Team met in Kabul to discuss how to respond. The group comprises top UN officials and representatives of dozens of Afghan and foreign NGOs.
A joint statement was released by the Norwegian Refugee Council, Save the Children and CARE.
"We cannot effectively reach children, women and men in desperate need in Afghanistan without our female staff," the statement read.
"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."
Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, called the decision a "humanitarian red line".
Dozens of organisations work across remote areas of Afghanistan and many of their employees are women, with several warning the ban would stymie their work.
"The ban is going to impact all aspects of humanitarian work as women employees have been key executors of various projects focussing on the country's vulnerable women population," said a top official of a foreign NGO in Kabul.
The economy ministry, which issues the licences, said it had received "serious complaints" that women working in NGOs were violating a strict dress code that the theocracy insists women adhere to.
On Saturday, the Taliban's Economy Minister Qari Din Mohammed Hanif announced the ruling in a letter.
The European Union, a major funder of aid organisations that work in Afghanistan, denounced the latest ban.
"The EU strongly condemns the Taliban's recent decision to ban women from working in national and international NGOs," a spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.
"We are assessing the situation and the impact it will have on our aid on the ground."
The International Rescue Committee said its more than 3,000 female staff in Afghanistan were "critical for the delivery of humanitarian assistance" in the country.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said women were "central to humanitarian operations around the world" and that the ban would be "devastating" to Afghans.
The latest ban comes as the Taliban also barred female students from attending universities on Tuesday, effective immediately.
Afghan women have since demonstrated in major cities against the ban.
Witnesses in the western city of Herat said about two dozen women were heading to the provincial governor’s house to protest against the ban on Saturday, chanting “education is our right”, when they were pushed back by security forces.
The same day, Taliban forces used a water cannon to disperse groups of female demonstrators.
There has been widespread international condemnation of the university ban.
An official in the Taliban administration, Minister of Higher Education Nida Mohammad Nadim, spoke about the ban for the first time on Thursday in an interview with Afghan state TV.
He said the ban was necessary to prevent the mixing of genders in universities and because he believes some subjects being taught breached the principles of Islam.
He said the ban would be in place until further notice.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Everything Now
Arcade Fire
(Columbia Records)
Mane points for safe home colouring
- Natural and grey hair takes colour differently than chemically treated hair
- Taking hair from a dark to a light colour should involve a slow transition through warmer stages of colour
- When choosing a colour (especially a lighter tone), allow for a natural lift of warmth
- Most modern hair colours are technique-based, in that they require a confident hand and taught skills
- If you decide to be brave and go for it, seek professional advice and use a semi-permanent colour
Fight Night
FIGHT NIGHT
Four title fights:
Amir Khan v Billy Dib - WBC International title
Hughie Fury v Samuel Peter - Heavyweight co-main event
Dave Penalosa v Lerato Dlamini - WBC Silver title
Prince Patel v Michell Banquiz - IBO World title
Six undercard bouts:
Michael Hennessy Jr v Abdul Julaidan Fatah
Amandeep Singh v Shakhobidin Zoirov
Zuhayr Al Qahtani v Farhad Hazratzada
Lolito Sonsona v Isack Junior
Rodrigo Caraballo v Sajid Abid
Ali Kiydin v Hemi Ahio
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Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
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Retirement funds heavily invested in equities at a risky time
Pension funds in growing economies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a sharply higher percentage of assets parked in stocks, just at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail markets.
Retirement money managers in 14 geographies now allocate 40 per cent of their assets to equities, an 8 percentage-point climb over the past five years, according to a Mercer survey released last week that canvassed government, corporate and mandatory pension funds with almost $5 trillion in assets under management. That compares with about 25 per cent for pension funds in Europe.
The escalating trade spat between the US and China has heightened fears that stocks are ripe for a downturn. With tensions mounting and outcomes driven more by politics than economics, the S&P 500 Index will be on course for a “full-scale bear market” without Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, Citigroup’s global macro strategy team said earlier this week.
The increased allocation to equities by growth-market pension funds has come at the expense of fixed-income investments, which declined 11 percentage points over the five years, according to the survey.
Hong Kong funds have the highest exposure to equities at 66 per cent, although that’s been relatively stable over the period. Japan’s equity allocation jumped 13 percentage points while South Korea’s increased 8 percentage points.
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• Bloomberg
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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