UN official: Aid groups press Taliban on ban on women’s jobs

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Heads of major aid groups are pressing the Taliban to reverse their decision to ban Afghan women from working for national and international nongovernmental groups. The Taliban edict last month raised fears that millions will be deprived of critical services — some 28 million Afghans, or over half of the country’s population, need urgent humanitarian assistance. The U.N. humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, spoke from Kabul on Wednesday and said that the focus of the visit was to get the Taliban to understand that getting aid operations up and running and allowing women to work in them was critical.