Afghan UN bread talks fail

Women are not allowed to work outside the home

Talks between the Taleban authorities in Afghanistan and the United Nations over food distribution have broken up without any agreement, according to the UN.

That's the bottom line - women will have to be involved.

UN Co-ordinator Erik de Mul

The UN Co-ordinator for Afghanistan, Erik de Mul, said there had been no breakthrough on the issue of using women to conduct a food survey in Kabul.

The UN agency, the World Food Programme, has threatened to close the bakeries it runs in the capital unless the Taleban allows a survey to be conducted to assess those most in need of aid.

The WFP says it needs to hire Afghan women to conduct the survey, but the Taleban refuses to allow the UN to hire local women.

Vulnerable group

Mr De Mul said there it was important to use women to conduct the survey because they were the most vulnerable group in Afghan society.

The Taleban follow a strict interpretation of Islam

"That's the bottom line - women will have to be involved," he said.

Mr De Mul, who was due to leave for neighbouring Pakistan, said talks on the issue would continue.

In Afghanistan's conservative culture, male researchers would not be able to enter other people's homes.

Strict orders

But the Taleban says it is not Islamic for women to work outside the home.

The Taleban Planning Minister Sadudin Saeed said after the talks on Tuesday that they had received strict orders from supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar about employing women.

"According to (Mullah Omar's) decree, the UN and other non-governmental organisations can't hire women," he said.

Nearly 300,000 people will be affected if the WFP suspends its food programme in Kabul.

One suggestion put forward by the Taleban to resolve the bakery issue was to hire foreign, rather than Afghan, women.

The UN says that is not a workable solution because it says there are simply not enough foreign women who speak Persian and Pashtu.