Top UN officials seek to 'water down' bans on women in Afghanistan

The Taliban administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its plans over guidelines.

During her visit last week, Mohammed met with the Shura - the leadership council that issues the bans - in the southern Taliban heartland of Kandahar. She said there is a concern that they may next prohibit "international women from international organisations and embassies."

"It hasn't happened so far," said Mohammed, adding that they had been expecting a possible announcement all month. "I don't say that it won't, but clearly the pressure that we're putting on has stopped that rollback as quickly."

Griffiths said the United Nations would continue operating in Afghanistan wherever it could, but there was a concern that international donors might not want to commit to the huge financial cost of aid at around $4.6 billion a year, reports Reuters.

"I lose sleep about this, I really do," Griffiths said, adding that he would meet with donors in coming weeks to make the case for why Afghanistan needed help during an intense humanitarian crisis in which 28 million people were in need of aid, including 6 million on the brink of famine.