Brussels - (AFP) - The European Union on Saturday condemned the Taliban's ban on women working in non-governmental organizations in Afghanistan , announcing that it was assessing the repercussions of this on the issue of providing aid to the country.

"The European Union strongly condemns the Taliban's recent decision to ban women from working in national and international NGOs... We are assessing the situation and its impact on our provision of aid on the ground," a spokeswoman for the European Union's foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, told AFP in a statement.

The Taliban has ordered NGOs operating in the country to prevent female employees from working for them.

A notice sent to all NGOs stated that the decision came as a result of "non-compliance of women" working for NGOs with the "veil".

It is not yet clear whether the new directives include foreign women working in non-governmental organizations, knowing that two international non-governmental organizations working in Afghanistan confirmed to France Press that they had received the notice.

The European Union is one of the most prominent funders of relief organizations working in Afghanistan, but it does not officially recognize the Taliban government.

"Our main concern remains the well-being, rights and freedoms of the Afghan people," Borrell's spokeswoman, Nabila Masrali, said.

She stressed that banning women from working in non-governmental organizations "is yet another severe limitation on the ability of women in Afghanistan to exercise their basic rights and freedoms and represents a clear violation of humanitarian principles."