The most challenging moral dilemmas involve choosing between two objectively negative outcomes. In Afghanistan, the international aid sector faces a wrenching decision: whether to uphold universal human rights values by refusing to comply with the Taliban’s edicts against employing women, or to prioritise the humanitarian imperative to continue providing what aid they can to millions in need. The decision to stay is complicated by the reality that effective in-person aid programming requires female staff to effectively reach women and girls. In this context, aid groups have found partial – albeit suboptimal – solutions through workarounds and low-profile local negotiation strategies, capitalising on the decentralised nature of power structures across the provinces in Afghanistan.
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