Taliban's Restrictions on Women's Work Threaten UN Presence in Afghanistan.

The Taliban has banned Afghan women from working for the United Nations and NGOs, further impeding aid efforts in a country already facing a humanitarian crisis. The ban has resulted in the U.N. instructing its national staff in Afghanistan to stay home for their own safety, particularly female staff. The Taliban's increasing restrictions on women's freedoms have resulted in an estimated loss of $1 billion to the Afghan economy, and the country is still heavily dependent on external assistance to meet basic needs. Humanitarian groups say the Taliban decrees are having a disastrous impact on the entire population.