The Taliban have issued even more restrictive edicts in Afghanistan, after recent news that the all-male government is preventing girls from going to school after grade 6 and that women are not allowed to board flights without male chaperones.
After the United States and NATO withdrew their troops from Afghanistan in mid-August and the country fell back under Taliban control, the international community waited to see if this new government would return to the way it was. the Taliban ruled in the late 1990s. Those days saw women banned from education and public spaces, and the banning of music, television and many sports.
These latest attacks on women’s rights add weight to fears of a return to 1990s rule, especially as the Taliban initially promised that women’s education would be protected.
The Taliban’s most recent actions include segregating parks, restricting men’s toilets and limiting access to international media.
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Parks to separate
In an official announcement on Sunday, all parks in Afghanistan will be segregated by gender thanks to new ordinances from the Taliban ministry for the promotion of virtue and the prevention of vice.
The letter that introduced the measure explained that women would be allowed to visit the parks three days a week, with men allowed the other four days.
These new rules mean that even families with children will not be able to enjoy the parks together. Neither can couples, colleagues or friends, unless they are of the same sex.
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Beard Size Restrictions
Male government employees must sport full beards to work or risk losing their jobs, according to new practices mandated by the Taliban Ministry for Promoting Virtue and Preventing Vice.
On Sunday, employees of various government departments were barred from working because they trimmed their beards or did not wear appropriate clothing in accordance with the Taliban’s interpretation of Islamic law.
A spokesperson for the Ministry for Promoting Virtue and Preventing Vice confirmed the actions, saying that to continue working, government staff were told a month ago that male workers must have beards. full and women, a hijab.
A mobile barber trims his client’s beard in Haji Yaqub Square as people go about their daily lives in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Bilal Guler/Getty Images
“Agents from the Ministry for the Promotion of Vice and Virtue Mediators went to certain services following the decree. Still, some employees disregarded the instruction and were arrested for advising,” the ministry spokesperson said.
Muhammed Sheer, a government worker in Kabul, told CBS News he was fired from work because he trimmed his beard.
“The Ministry for Promoting Virtue and Preventing Vice stopped us for a few hours and warned us that you should come with a long beard next time, or risk losing your job,” Sheer said.
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International media blocked
The US State Department discovered that the Taliban were blocking Western media broadcasts, including the BBC, Voice of America and Deutsche Welle in Germany.
The UN describes this decision as “a new repressive step against the Afghan people”.
According to Tarik Kafala, head of languages for BBC World Services, “more than six million Afghans consume independent and impartial BBC journalism on television every week and it is crucial that they are not denied access to the future”.
(The BBC broadcasts in Pashto and Persian, the two languages of Afghanistan.)
The US State Department has condemned these latest restrictions on basic freedoms, saying it is “clear that the Taliban is not living up to essential commitments it has made to the Afghan people and the international community”.
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Who is responsible for these new rules?
AP News spoke to senior Taliban officials and found the new measures stemmed from a three-day meeting last week with Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhundzada. The meeting took place in Kandahar, where the Supreme Leader lives. Kandahar is considered the birthplace of the Taliban.
According to these officials, Akhundzada is behind the country’s latest restrictive measures – and those who know the leader say he is not concerned about international outrage or complaints from Afghans.
Afghan women and girls take part in a protest outside the Ministry of Education in Kabul on March 26, 2022, demanding the reopening of high schools for girls.
Ahmad Sahel Arman/Getty Images
At the end of March, the Taliban promised to reopen schools for girls beyond grade 6. According to reports, Akhundzada also vetoed the decision. On March 23, the government officially reneged on its promise, sparking protests in Kabul.
In response, the US government canceled talks aimed at resolving economic issues with the Afghan government, saying that restricting girls’ education would “profoundly harm Afghanistan’s prospects for social cohesion and economic growth, its ambition to becoming a respected member of the community of nations, and the willingness of Afghans to return from abroad.
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