KABUL - Three foreign aid groups announced they were suspending their operations in Afghanistan after the country's Taliban rulers ordered all NGOs to stop women staff from working.
Their announcement prompted warnings from a top UN official in Afghanistan and from NGOs that humanitarian aid would be hard hit.
"We cannot effectively reach children, women and men in desperate need in Afghanistan without our female staff," Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council and CARE said in a joint statement.
"Whilst we gain clarity on this announcement, we are suspending our programmes, demanding that men and women can equally continue our lifesaving assistance in Afghanistan."
Saturday's order issued by the ministry of economy drew swift international condemnation.
The ban is the latest blow against women's rights.
Less than a week ago, the hardline Islamists also barred women from attending universities, prompting global outrage and protests in some Afghan cities.
The ministry threatened to suspend the operating licences of aid organisations that failed to stop women from working.
It said it had received "serious complaints" that women working in NGOs were not observing a proper Islamic dress code, a charge also used by authorities to justify banning university education.
But the UN chief's deputy special representative for Afghanistan, Ramiz Alakbarov, told AFP that the ban will impede aid delivery to millions of people and also have a "devastating" impact on the country's dilapidated economy.
"It will be very difficult to continue and deliver humanitarian assistance in an independent and fair way because women's participation is very important," Alakbarov said.
"We are going to discuss this matter with the authorities... We will insist on reversal of the ban."