The United Nations mission in Afghanistan expressed deep concern on Sunday over a new law recently endorsed by the Taliban that imposes further restrictions on women.
The new legislation, published last Wednesday, is based on a 2022 decree by the Taliban’s supreme spiritual leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada. It tightly controls all aspects of Afghan social and private life under a strict interpretation of Sharia law.
While these rules were already enforced by the morality police under the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the formalization into law raises fears of even stricter enforcement.
Among the 35 articles, the law mandates that women must cover their faces and bodies when outside their homes and ensure their voices are not heard in public. Additionally, men are prohibited from shaving their beards, skipping prayers and fasts, or playing music in their cars.
Penalties for violating these rules range from “warnings, threats of divine punishment, and verbal threats” to “confiscation of property, detention from one hour to three days, and any other punishment deemed appropriate,” according to the Afghan Ministry of Justice.
If these penalties fail to achieve compliance, offenders will be referred to the courts.
“After decades of war and amidst a horrific humanitarian crisis, the Afghan people deserve more than to be threatened or imprisoned for being late to prayer, glancing at a non-family member of the opposite sex, or possessing a photograph,” said Roza Otunbayeva, head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
She added that the law imposes further unbearable restrictions on women and girls, where even the simple sound of a woman’s voice outside the home is deemed a violation of moral codes.
The UN also expressed concern over the law’s restrictions on religious freedom and press freedom, as it forbids media from publishing content deemed “hostile to Sharia and religion” or “pictures depicting living beings.”
“They are trying to erase women from society day by day,” lamented a 37-year-old housewife from Kabul. “The silence of the international community in the face of the Taliban’s actions encourages them to create new laws and restrictions daily,” she added.
The Taliban nullified Afghanistan’s previous Constitution when they seized power in August 2021, declaring they would govern according to Islamic law.
Western nations have stressed that formal recognition of the Taliban government hinges on their respect for women’s rights.
The Taliban, however, maintain that they respect women’s rights as dictated by their interpretation of Islamic law and local customs, insisting that this is an internal matter.
