You don’t need me to tell you that Taliban-run Afghanistan has been a disaster for tens of millions of women in the country.  One of the first things the Taliban did after it took over Afghanistan was to force women out of schools and to adhere to strict dress codes.  Their implementation of sharia law has set the clock back centuries for Afghan women and girls, many of whom have grown up knowing school, opportunity, and freedom.  Now those days are gone.

And just last month, the Taliban took another step backwards and actually banned women from working for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the United Nations’ teams that are operating in Afghanistan.  As millions are struggling with poverty, disease, and hunger in the wake of the Biden Administration’s disastrous withdrawal, they are turning away capable, willing workers and volunteers simply because they are women.

What’s worse, the UN is allowing it to happen.  This organization that purports to champion women’s rights is turning a blind eye to male-only humanitarian aid implementation.  As long as American tax dollars are sent to the UN and the NGOs it works with, the UN needs to step up and make it clear that this is not acceptable.

That is why the House Foreign Affairs members from both sides of the aisle called on the Secretary-General of the United Nations to oppose any funding to the nation run by terrorists until they reverse this backwards policy.

My heart breaks for the women of Afghanistan whose lives were turned upside down by the Biden Administration’s failure, but I’ll continue to fight to support them in any way possible.  Read the full letter here: