Aid agencies are stopping work in Afghanistan after the Taliban barred women staff

A classroom that previously was used for girls sits empty in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. The country's Taliban rulers earlier this week ordered women nationwide to stop attending private and public universities effective immediately and until further notice. (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

KABUL, Afghanistan — Three major international aid groups on Sunday suspended their operations in Afghanistan following a decision by the country's Taliban rulers to ban women from working at non-governmental organizations.

Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council and CARE said they cannot effectively reach children, women and men in desperate need in Afghanistan without the women in their workforces. The NGO ban was introduced a day earlier, allegedly because women weren't wearing the Islamic headscarf correctly.