BRUSSELS, Dec 25: The European Union condemned the recent decision by Taliban to ban women from working for national and international non-governmental organisations and urged them to lift the ban. "The EU, as one of the major providers of humanitarian and basic needs assistance to the people of Afghanistan, strongly condemns this ban and calls on the Taliban to lift their decision immediately," EU High Representative Josep Borrell said in a statement in Brussels on Sunday evening.

He warned that the EU will assess the impact the decision by the Taliban will have on the EU's ability to continue providing assistance to Afghans in need. Currently an estimated 30 million Afghans - men, women and children - are dependent on humanitarian aid, including food and medical assistance, for their survival, he noted. Women have a particular important role in the delivery of assistance to other women.

Restricting women's participation in this critical work will prevent the delivery of such assistance to a large part of the population, including widows, women-led households and children, said the statement. "Together with other providers of assistance to the people of Afghanistan, the EU will have to consider what consequences this decision, and the recent decision by the Taliban to close universities for women, will have on their engagement with our countries and organisations," added Borrell. (KUNA)