United Nations/Kabul- Following the Taliban's indication on Tuesday that they would impose a ban on Afghan women working for the international organization, the United Nations issued a directive to its 3,300 Afghan employees instructing them not to report to work in Afghanistan for the next two days.

According to Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for the United Nations, "word of an order by the de facto authorities that bans female national staff members of the United Nations from working," reached U.N. officials in Afghanistan.

To gain more insight, the U.N. is investigating the effects and will speak with representatives of the Afghan foreign ministry on Wednesday in Kabul. About 400 Afghan women work for the U.N.

According to two U.N. sources who spoke to the media, the organization has asked all employees, both male and female, to skip work for the next 48 hours due to concerns about enforcement. In Afghanistan, Friday and Saturday are typically considered weekends, so U.N. personnel would not likely return until at least Sunday.

Earlier on Tuesday, the U.N. mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) expressed concern about female staff members being prevented from reporting to work in the eastern province of Nangarhar.

"A much more formal communication was made in Jalalabad, the capital of the province of Nangarhar. Through a number of channels, we were informed that this was true for the entire nation. "Dujarric commented that there was no writing.

More than half of Afghanistan's population, or 23 million people, need humanitarian aid, he added, adding that the UN needs female staff members to deliver life-saving aid.

Requests for comment from the Taliban government and the Afghan information ministry were not immediately fulfilled.

The ban's enforcement in Nangarhar was denounced by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who wrote on Twitter: "If this measure is not reversed, it will inevitably undermine our ability to deliver life-saving aid to the people who need it."

Following its strict interpretation of Islamic law, the Taliban government, which took control as U.S.-led forces left Afghanistan after 20 years of war, claims to respect women's rights.

The Taliban have tightened restrictions on women's participation in public life since toppling the Western-backed government in Kabul, including prohibiting women from attending universities and closing the majority of girls' high schools.

Most female humanitarian aid workers were forced to stop working by Taliban authorities in December, which, according to aid workers, has made it harder to reach women in need and may cause donors to withhold funding.

The United Nations and some other international organizations were initially exempt from the restrictions. Amina Mohammed, the deputy secretary-general of the United Nations, expressed concern in January that Afghan women might soon face restrictions on employment with international organizations.

If foreign embassies in Kabul had received the same instructions regarding hiring women, it was not immediately clear.

A ban on Afghan women working for the UN could make it extremely difficult for the organization to continue operations in Afghanistan. The original U.N. Charter stipulates that both men and women are equally eligible to work for the organization.

Aid officials have also warned of the possibility that donor nations will cut back on funding as other global crises gain momentum, in response to their frustration with restrictions on women.

The United Nations has made its single-largest country aid appeal in history, requesting $4.6 billion in 2023 to support Afghanistan. The funding level is currently under 5%.