An international aid agency in Afghanistan hopes to have an interim arrangement within days to allow its Afghan female staff to return to work in the southern province of Kandahar - the birthplace of the Taliban and home to the supreme spiritual leader.
Norwegian Refugee Council Secretary General Jan Egeland spokes to Reuters after traveling to Kabul on Wednesday from Kandahar, where he met with key Taliban leaders.
The U.N. and aid groups have been trying to carve out exemptions for women to deliver aid, particularly in health and education. The Taliban administration has been promising since January a set of written guidelines to allow aid groups to operate with female staff.
The Taliban say they respect women's rights in accordance with their strict interpretation of Islamic law. They have also tightened controls on women's access to public life, barring women and girls from university and high school.
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