Taliban Ban Puts UN Female Staffers in Afghanistan at Risk.

The Taliban have banned Afghan women employees of the United Nations staff from working throughout Afghanistan, according to a UN spokesman. The UN has asked all staff not to come to the office for 48 hours due to concerns about the enforcement of the ban. The Taliban administration says it respects women's rights in accordance with its interpretation of Islamic law, but has tightened controls over women's access to public life since seizing power. Aid workers have said the ban could make it more difficult to reach female beneficiaries and lead donors to hold back funding.