The Taliban rulers in Afghanistan have introduced a stringent new set of laws that include a ban on women’s voices and visible faces in public.
Approved by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, these laws aim to regulate various aspects of daily life, such as public transportation, music, and social interactions.
The new regulations, passed Wednesday in a 114-page document, represent the first formal declaration of vice and virtue laws since the Taliban seized power in 2021.
One article specifically targets women, mandating that they must cover their bodies at all times in public, with face coverings deemed essential to prevent temptation.
The laws dictate that women’s clothing should not be thin, tight, or short, and women are required to veil themselves in front of all male strangers and non-Muslims to avoid being “corrupted.”
Additionally, a woman’s voice is considered intimate, and therefore, women are prohibited from singing, reciting, or reading aloud in public. The rules also ban women from looking at men they are not related to by blood or marriage, and vice versa.
The laws also ban the publication of images of living beings, restrict the playing of music and prohibit the transportation of solo female travelers.
They also require passengers and drivers to perform prayers at designated times, with officials able to administer punishments or make arrests on those deemed to have violated the laws.
“Inshallah, we assure you that this Islamic law will be of great help in the promotion of virtue and the elimination of vice,” said ministry spokesman Maulvi Abdul Ghafar Farooq.
The United Nations recently released a report criticizing the ministry’s expanding role in public life, stating that its actions have contributed to a climate of fear and intimidation among Afghans, especially women and girls.
The Taliban has since rejected the U.N. report, continuing to enforce their restrictive measures despite widespread international criticism.
With News Wire Services