The United Nations has asked Afghan women working for it in Afghanistan to stay at home for their own safety following an edict issued by Taliban militia.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan took this unusual step in view of the hardline position taken by Taliban but simultaneously pressed the militia to withdraw the edict which bans Afghan women in Kabul from working with the international relief agencies. Annan's spokesman Manoel De Almeida E Silva told reporters that the restrictions on women's employment, which cover all areas but the health sector, come at a time when Afghanistan is facing a severe drought and an unprecedented food deficit Report: Zeenext Bureau