AVA - UN Security Council to meet IEA

Diplomats said that, the United Nations Security Council is due to meet privately to discuss a decision by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to ban female humanitarian aid workers.

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA)_Monitoring, The closed-door meeting was requested by the United Arab Emirates and Japan for January 13, Reuters reported. The UAE announced the request in a tweet.

The ban on female aid workers was announced by the IEA on Dec. 24 and followed a ban imposed earlier last month on women attending universities. Girls were stopped from attending high school in March.

UN aid Chief Martin Griffiths is due to visit Afghanistan in the coming weeks to meet with IEA officials, Reuters reported.

At least four major global groups have suspended operations because they said they were unable to run their programs without female staff, Reuters reported.