UN Closes Eight Afghan Returnee Centres as Taliban Bars Women Staff

The United Nations has shut down eight returnee support centres in Afghanistan after the Taliban imposed a ban on female staff, a move that threatens to derail vital humanitarian services across the country. The closures mark one of the most significant disruptions to international aid operations since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021.

Arafat Jamal, the UN refugee agency’s (UNHCR) representative in Afghanistan, confirmed the closures on September 9, stressing that the centres were essential lifelines for thousands of vulnerable Afghans. “These centres were assisting nearly 7,000 returnees daily with interviews, biometric registration, and protection assessments,” Jamal said. “Much of this work cannot be carried out without female staff, making the Taliban’s restrictions operationally crippling.”

Taliban Blocks Female UN Staff

The ban escalated on September 6, when Taliban forces stationed armed guards outside UN offices in Kabul, Herat, and Mazar-i-Sharif, physically blocking Afghan women from entering their workplaces. According to reports, Taliban officials told local female employees they could no longer work for the UN or any international organization, effectively halting entire aid programmes.

The restrictions are not limited to urban centres. In disaster-hit areas, such as regions devastated by recent earthquakes, female aid workers have also been barred from participating in relief efforts. Humanitarian agencies warn that this prevents direct support to women and girls, many of whom cannot be reached by male staff due to cultural and social barriers.

Humanitarian Crisis Deepens

The timing of the closures comes amid a worsening humanitarian crisis. Nearly 100,000 Afghans were deported from Pakistan in the first week of September alone, following Islamabad’s tightened border policies. The sudden influx has overwhelmed Afghanistan’s fragile infrastructure, stretching already limited resources for returnees, internally displaced families, and earthquake survivors.

The UNHCR emphasized that its decision to suspend services was not punitive but unavoidable. “Humanitarian operations depend on the full participation of women,” Jamal explained. “Without female staff, we cannot guarantee safe and equitable access to assistance, particularly for women and children.”

Mounting International Concern

The closures highlight growing alarm among the international community that Taliban policies are dismantling the last remaining channels of humanitarian aid. Since seizing power, the Taliban have imposed sweeping restrictions on women, barring them from education, employment in NGOs, and most public spaces. Aid agencies say these policies are isolating Afghanistan further and leaving millions of families without lifesaving support.

More than one million Afghans are at risk from forced returns in the coming months, according to UN estimates. Aid organizations warn that unless restrictions on female staff are lifted, the most vulnerable—especially women, children, and widowed households—will face heightened neglect.

A Call for Urgent Action

UN officials have urged the Taliban to immediately reverse the ban and allow women to resume work, warning that the credibility of humanitarian commitments depends on inclusive access. “The world cannot stabilize Afghanistan or support its people if half the population is excluded from helping the other half,” Jamal stressed.

Unless the restrictions ease, international agencies caution, Afghanistan faces the risk of a full-scale humanitarian breakdown, with aid cut off at a time when millions are already on the brink of famine and displacement.

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