Taliban ban on hearing women’s voices gives ‘distressing vision’ for Afghanistan, says UN official

A United Nations official has said the Taliban’s ban on hearing women’s voices and seeing women’s faces in public offers “a distressing vision” for Afghanistan. Roza Otunbayeva, head of the UN’s mission in the country, said the Taliban’s first formal legislation, approved by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada last week, compounded “already intolerable restrictions” on the rights of women and girls, with “even the sound of a female voice outside the home” apparently deemed a moral violation.
“After decades of war and in the midst of a terrible humanitarian crisis, the Afghan people deserve much better than being threatened or jailed if they happen to be late for prayers, glance at a member of the opposite sex who is not a family member, or possess a photo of a loved one,” Ms Otunbayeva said. Although not prohibited in the Koran, images of people and animals are considered by strict Muslims to be forbidden.
The powers of the vice and virtue ministry have been expanded to regulate personal conduct and administer punishments for infractions of the law laid down in a 114-page text with 35 articles that cover every aspect of Afghan life. “We assure you that this Islamic law will be of great help in the promotion of virtue and the elimination of vice,” ministry spokesman Maulvi Abdul Ghafar Farooq said. Enforcers are authorised to detain and fine individuals who breach the law.
Article 13, which deals with avoiding temptation, makes it mandatory for a woman to conceal her figure, cover her face and avoid looking at men who are not relations. Article 15 bans travel for adult women without a male guardian and mixing with unrelated men. For men, the law bars shaving, trimming beards, and western haircuts and dress. Acting vice and virtue minister Mohammad Khalid Hanafi said there would be “no compromise in the enforcement of Islamic laws”.
Since returning to power three years ago, the Taliban has banned women from secondary and university education, employment, parks, gyms and hair salons. Divorces granted during the US occupation (2001-2021) could be nullified.
Radio Free Europe quoted Afghan journalist Sami Yousafzai, who said Taliban restrictions against women stem from the customs and cultural practices of Pushtun tribal communities in eastern and southern Afghanistan. By contrast, 50 Muslim majority states abide by the declaration by the prophet Muhammad that says: “Education is not only the right, but the duty of every Muslim, male or female.”
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Atlantic Council legal adviser Azadah Raz Mohammad told US national public radio the Taliban was encouraged to crack down after the UN and representatives from 25 countries agreed to meet a male-only Taliban delegation in Qatar on June 26th and refrained from discussing women’s rights. Ms Raz Mohammad said this event signalled to the Taliban that they enjoyed impunity. Additional reporting: AP