Life for women in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan just became even more restrictive after a government ministry passed new “vice and virtue” laws in the country that deny women the vote and banish them from public life.
The laws were issued on Wednesday by the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, which was established in 2021 after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan.
This year, the U.S. military and other Western powers, including Canada, evacuated the country, leaving a power vacuum that the militant group quickly filled. Many Afghans who worked for Western powers, including drivers and interpreters, were left behind in the chaotic withdrawal.
The new rules were laid out in a 114-page document covering broad areas of everyday public life, reported the Associated Press, which has seen the document. It is the first formal declaration of “virtue laws” in Afghanistan since the takeover.
“Inshallah, we assure you that this Islamic law will be of great help in promoting virtue and eliminating vice,” ministry spokesman Maulvi Abdul Ghafar Farooq said on Thursday. The laws were approved by Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada on Wednesday.
Article 13 of the document concerns women and specifies how a woman should dress and behave in public.
Today, it is obligatory for women to cover their entire bodies, including their faces, in public to avoid temptation and to avoid tempting others. This means that the usual Islamic head covering, the hijab, which covers the hair and neck but not the face, is no longer considered appropriate.
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Women are also prohibited from singing, reciting and reading aloud in public, as a woman’s voice is considered “intimate” and should not be heard. It is unclear whether speaking is also prohibited.
The laws also state that women are not allowed to look at men with whom they are not related by blood or marriage and vice versa.
Violations of these rules can result in warnings, confiscation of property or a prison sentence of up to three days. The ministry already enforces similar morality rules and says it has arrested thousands of people for violations.
“Many of these rules were in place before but less formally, and now they are being formalized. I think that is a sign of what we have seen over the last three years, which is a steady and gradual escalation of the crackdown,” said Heather Barr, deputy women’s rights director at Human Rights Watch.
The new laws come after the Taliban severely restricted women’s freedoms after seizing power. In 2022, the group banned women from attending school after sixth grade, whereas women had previously been able to attend secondary schools and universities.
Afghan women hold placards as they demonstrate for their rights, resisting the opposition’s crackdown, in Kabul on April 29, 2023.
AFP via Getty Images
A woman from Afghanistan who was a year away from completing her law degree told Global News last year that she “couldn’t speak for several minutes” after learning she would have to drop out of college.
“Home is like a prison for us and we will fight until our basic human rights are legalized without any discrimination,” she said.
The Taliban also banned women from working for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in 2022. Another woman who spoke to Global News said her family was plunged into poverty after she was forced to quit her job at an NGO.
“I am the breadwinner of my family. We are only four people in my family: me, my sister and my parents. My father is sick now. We have nothing in our kitchen to prepare dinner or night food,” she said. “It’s so hard for me. I don’t know how to carry on with my life.”
In addition to the new restrictions on women, the laws passed on Wednesday also ban the playing of music and prohibit men from shaving their beards and skipping prayers and religious fasts.
The laws also require drivers not to transport women without a male guardian, and passengers and drivers must pray at set times.
The media in Afghanistan must now comply with Sharia law, which means that publishing images of living beings is prohibited under the Islamic ban on idol worship.
Last month, a UN report said the ministry was contributing to a climate of fear and intimidation among Afghans through its decrees and the methods it uses to enforce them.
“Given the numerous problems described in the report, the position expressed by the de facto authorities that this oversight will increase and expand is a matter of great concern for all Afghans, especially women and girls,” said Fiona Frazer, head of the human rights service at the UN Mission in Afghanistan.
The Taliban rejected the UN report.
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— With files from The Associated Press, Reuters and Global News’ Shogofa Danish and Touria Izri
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
