Ó Gabhann, Cathal

Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel famously stated that “Neutrality helps the oppressor”, and yet the principle of Neutrality is considered fundamental to humanitarian aid work. Without political neutrality, humanitarians argue, it is impossible to negotiate access to the affected populations which they aim to assist. This paper will examine the balance which aid agencies must strike between the humanitarian principles of “neutrality” and “Do No Harm” in the particular context of Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover of 15th August 2021. In the face of regressive policies placing extreme limits on women’s rights, this paper will ask whether the humanitarian principle of Neutrality has any place in Afghanistan today, and whether adherence to this principle is actually harmful in itself, amounting to complicity with the Taliban (Slim, 2023). The paper will refer to the century-long “culture wars” over women’s rights in Afghanistan – long pre-dating the Taliban – and the utilisation of “Afghan women” during the 20-year United States-led intervention in Afghanistan. The paper will examine the current humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, whilst exploring the Taliban’s opaque decision-making process and the overt expressions of dissent which the edicts on women’s rights have provoked even amongst the Taliban’s senior members. This paper will argue that, whilst considerations must be given to humanitarian workers’ own ethical dilemmas, the overriding imperative to assist some of the world’s most vulnerable people makes it incumbent upon humanitarians to avoid the trap of moral narcissism; in essence, humanitarians in Afghanistan face a dilemma of “spattered hands” (Rubenstein, 2015), not “dirty hands” (Walzer, 1973). The paper will propose that, although without a deep understanding of the culture and history of Afghanistan, aidworkers are ill-equipped to judge whether their presence in the country amounts to complicity with the Taliban, humanitarian actors bear little or no moral responsibility for the Taliban’s policies. Moreover, disciplined adherence to political neutrality does not precludeaid agencies from selective engagement with the Taliban on policies affecting women; the paper will conclude that withdrawal from Afghanistan could amount to an abandonment of both that opportunity and of the Afghan people themselves.