Emergency relief in Afghanistan hampered by lack of women's rights, Oxfam warns

Emergency relief work in Afghanistan is hampered because of the country's lack of women's rights under the Taliban government, Oxfam's chief executive has said, Report informs.

Halima Begum has been telling Sky News the charity had to pull out of the country "for reasons to do with operational difficulty".

"It's devastating to have woken up to the news this morning, across all of our news channels, and our thoughts and solidarity are with the people of Afghanistan," she said.

"Emergency relief in Afghanistan, either over the long term or even during this emergency, is a really difficult process because women's rights are not upheld very well in this country."

She said providing aid "presents a very difficult and complex challenge for us".

Oxfam is working through partner agencies such as the British Red Cross, "trying to figure out how best we can get support to what you can see are very difficult, mountainous regions", she said.

She added: "All of the NGOs and charities will be getting together, figuring out who is present there.

"And of course, there's an ongoing conversation and monitoring with the Disasters Emergency Committee to just see where the death toll goes and what that response level should be."