Qatar has expressed “deep concern” over the Taliban’s decision to ban female employees from working with non-governmental organisations. Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement called on the Taliban to review its decision to allow women to work in the various jobs available to them in the organizations.

“The State of Qatar expresses its deep concern over the Afghan caretaker government’s decision to ban Afghan women from working in local and foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) until further notice, under the pretext that some female employees do not adhere to the Islamic dress code set by the government for women,” Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed the need to “respect women’s right to work,” and emphasised that the freedom to choose and accept work is a “human right.” In the statement, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs underscored that their stance is support all spectra of Afghanistan to obtain all their rights, including the right to work.

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“The State of Qatar calls on the caretaker government to review its decision to enable women to work in the various jobs available to them in the organizations in a way that helps the distribution and flow of humanitarian aid to the Afghan people,” Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Qatar Foreign Ministry’s statement comes after the Taliban on Saturday ordered all local and foreign NGOs to stop female employees from coming to work in the country, according to Tolo News. The Taliban ordered all national and international non-government organizations to suspend the jobs of female employees until further announcement, Tolo News reported. This comes a few days after the Taliban ordered the closure of universities to female students across the country.

After the Taliban’s ban on women from working in non-governmental organizations, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep concern about the decision. Guterres stressed that the decision will undermine the work of various organisations helping those most vulnerable, particularly women and girls, Stephane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General said in a statement.

“The Secretary-General is deeply disturbed by the reported order of the de facto Taliban authorities banning women from working for national and international non-governmental organizations,” Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

“This decision will undermine the work of numerous organizations working across the country helping those most vulnerable, especially women and girls,” he added.