The Taliban has passed new ‘vice and virtue’ laws severely restricting the rights of women, continuing the erasure of women from public spaces in Afghanistan
These laws, part of the Taliban’s efforts to enforce their interpretation of Islamic morality, have been met with horror and outrage from human rights groups and international bodies, the UN has reported.
The newly published “vice and virtue” laws, approved by Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, mandate that women must completely cover their bodies, including their faces, with thick clothing whenever they are in public.
The Taliban states that these measures are intended to prevent women from tempting men and uphold their version of moral decency.
New laws for Afghan women
The laws prohibit women from speaking or making their voices heard in public, even from the confines of their own homes. This restriction extends to singing or reading aloud, activities deemed potentially provocative by Taliban authorities.
Furthermore, women are forbidden from making direct eye contact with men who are not immediate family members. Taxi drivers face punishment if they transport unaccompanied women, effectively limiting women’s mobility and access to essential services.
Roza Otunbayeva, the UN’s special representative for Afghanistan, described the laws as extending “intolerable restrictions” on the rights of women and girls already imposed by the Taliban since their takeover in 2021. She emphasised that these measures not only contravene international human rights standards but also exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in the war-torn nation.
Genger restrictions: Pushing women and girls further into invisibility
Human rights activists within Afghanistan and abroad have decried the laws as a form of “gender apartheid,” pushing women and girls further into invisibility and depriving them of their basic freedoms.
Fawzia Koofi, an Afghan human rights activist, condemned the international community’s relative silence on the issue, arguing that it emboldens the Taliban to continue their oppressive policies unchecked.
The Taliban’s move to impose these measures comes after ongoing efforts by the international community to engage with the Taliban government diplomatically. Critics argue that instead of normalising relations, these efforts should focus on holding the Taliban accountable for their widespread human rights violations.
With each new restriction, there is a growing fear that the progress made in women’s rights over the past two decades will be completely erased, plunging Afghan society into deeper turmoil.
An immediate appeal: Who is protecting women around the world?
In response to the outcry, the UN and various human rights organisations have called for the immediate repeal of these laws, emphasising the urgent need to protect the rights and dignity of Afghan women and girls.
