UN Halts Border Aid as Taliban Tighten Grip on Women Workers

The United Nations has halted its humanitarian operations at a vital crossing point between Afghanistan and Iran, following the Taliban authorities’ introduction of fresh restrictions barring Afghan women employees from working at the border, a senior UN official confirmed on Tuesday.

Indrika Ratwatte, the UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator in Afghanistan, told AFP, “The UN and humanitarian partners have today suspended operations at the Islam Qala border between Afghanistan and Iran, following the introduction of additional restrictions preventing female national UN and partner staff from operating at the border.”

While Ratwatte did not elaborate on the exact nature of the new measures, he cautioned that they were causing “immediate operational challenges” and creating “additional risks for returning people, particularly women and girls.”

Islam Qala, located in western Herat province, serves as the principal border crossing for Afghans expelled from Iran — with over 60 percent of returnees being women, according to UN data.

Ratwatte emphasised that the absence of female personnel critically undermines the agency’s capacity to provide humane and gender-sensitive assistance. “Without female staff, we cannot collectively serve returning women and children under conditions of dignity and respect,” he stated.

The Taliban authorities have yet to issue an official response to AFP’s request for comment.

The restrictions are the latest in a series of measures that have steadily eroded Afghan women’s right to work and public participation since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. In late 2022, the regime prohibited NGOs from employing Afghan women, a ban later extended to UN agencies in 2023.

Although women remain permitted to work remotely or in a handful of sectors, most Afghan female UN employees have been confined to working from home for the past two months. In contrast, NGOs still retain limited capacity to deploy Afghan women in field operations.

According to UN figures, over 1.2 million Afghans have crossed the Islam Qala border from Iran so far this year, contributing to the 2.2 million total returns recorded in 2025, including 1.7 million from Iran alone.

In July, Roza Otunbayeva, the head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), described the situation at Islam Qala as “a test of our collective humanity.”

Otunbayeva warned that returning Afghans — particularly women — are enduring severe trauma, destitution, and limited access to essential services under the Taliban’s restrictive rule. She urged swift international intervention, stressing that Afghanistan “cannot absorb this shock alone” and that “the cost of inaction will be measured in lives lost and renewed instability.”