UN accuses Taliban of harassing women staff

KABUL: The United Nations mission in Afghanistan has accused the Taliban authorities of intimidating and harassing its female staff working in the country, including detaining three women for questioning on Monday.

Since the Taliban seized power in August last year, they have imposed harsh restrictions on girls and women to comply with their austere vision of Islam — effectively squeezing them out of public life.

“There has been an emerging pattern of harassment of Afghan UN female staff by the de facto authorities,” the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in a statement.

Citing an example, UNAMA said three Afghan women working for the organisation were “singled out and temporarily detained for questioning” by armed security agents of the authorities on Monday.