114 Pages “Vices and Virtues”: Taliban Law Silences Women in Public

114 Pages “Vices and Virtues”
Taliban law silences women in public

August 22, 2024, 9:55 PM

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Women have already had a hard time in Afghanistan since the Taliban came to power, but the new set of rules imposed by the Islamists have made things worse. As a result, women are no longer allowed to express themselves in public. They will also have to be careful about their appearance in the future.

The Taliban in Afghanistan have issued a series of new laws that, among other things, ban women from making public statements. Women’s voices are intimate, and they are not allowed to sing, recite or read aloud in public, according to Article 13 of the Vice and Virtue Code, which was made available to The Associated Press. A spokesman for the extremist Islamist group said the 114-page document was issued Wednesday after being approved by Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhundsada. It was the first official announcement of the so-called Vice and Virtue Code since the Taliban came to power in the summer of 2021.

In the same year, they created a kind of morality police, the Ministry of “Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.” Under the law, it can now issue warnings or impose penalties for violations. The laws regulate aspects of daily life, such as the use of music, celebrations, and local public transport.

According to Article 13, women must wear the hijab in public at all times. The face covering is required to avoid temptation and not to tempt others. Clothing should not be thin, tight or short. She added that Afghan women must also cover themselves in front of non-Muslim men and women so as not to be corrupted. It is also forbidden for a woman to look at men to whom she is not related or married.

The media also fears the new laws.

Article 17 prohibits the publication of images of living beings. Afghanistan’s already hollow media landscape is likely to be further weakened by this regulation. According to Article 19, making and playing music is prohibited. Women traveling alone are not allowed to travel. Meetings between unrelated men and women are also taboo.

In early July, a report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said that a climate of fear and intimidation had spread among sections of the population, including the morality police. The decrees and some of the methods used to enforce them violate human rights and fundamental freedoms. The fact that the Taliban’s ministry of responsibility has announced its goal of expanding its powers to other areas of daily life is a cause for grave concern for all Afghans, especially women, said Fiona Frazer, the head of human rights at UNAMA. The Taliban rejected the report.