UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths said that the UN agencies will not be able to operate in a needed way if female employees cannot go back to work.

Griffiths made the remarks in an interview with TOLOnews.

He expressed concerns about the ban on female employees at the NGOs.

“If we cannot get female employees back to work--which they are working in those two sectors and we are going to expand it, but if they weren’t--we would not be able to operate because we would not be able to deliver the kind of quality of programing we need. It is a practical matter,” he said.

Griffiths said that the UN has made an appeal for $4.6 billion for Afghanistan in 2023, which is the biggest globally.

He said that six million people will be facing famine, if aid is not provided.

"We don’t have time to go back. We only have an insistence on going forward. Going forward is getting women allowed -- they are entitled to--but we need them anyway to deliver. So the humanitarian priority that Afghanistan represents is probably the highest in the world. That is why you have seen these visits,” Griffiths said.

The Islamic Emirate in reaction to Griffiths’ remarks said that women are allowed to work in organizations where they are needed based on Sharia.

“They should respect the rules of our country and make their operations in accordance with the rules of our country,” said Zabiullah Mujahid, Islamic Emirate’s spokesman.

“The United Nations, since its establishment after WWII, has always made remarks about the rights of humans but has not done anything practical,” said Ahmad Munib Rasa, a political analyst.

Earlier, the Ministry of Economy told TOLOnews that it has held meetings with aid organizations to pave the way for the work of female employees.