Afghanistan: Taliban Bans Women From Speaking in Public
Afghanistan's Taliban administration has enacted new legislation prohibiting women from showing their faces or having their voices heard in public....
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Facts
- Afghanistan's Taliban administration has enacted new legislation prohibiting women from showing their faces or having their voices heard in public.[1][2]
- The 35-article morality law — released by the Taliban's ministry for the propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice on Wednesday — has guidance covering aspects of daily life, including social interactions.[3][4]
- The law mandates women to cover their entire bodies publicly, including their faces, to prevent 'temptation.' It deems female voices intimate and bans women from singing, reciting, or reading aloud in public.[5][6]
- Apart from banning the playing of music, women's solo travel, and the mixing of unrelated men and women, the law prohibits men from shaving their beards and forbids drivers and passengers from missing prayers.[7][8]
- Failure to adhere to the law could result in multiple penalties, including detention, warnings of divine punishment, and confiscation of property.[9]
- According to ministry spokesman Maulvi Abdul Ghafar Farooq, the new laws have been enacted to help in 'the promotion of virtue and the elimination of vice.'[10]
Sources: [1]The Hill, [2]Newsweek, [3]NBC, [4]Afghanistan International, [5]CNN, [6]DAWN.COM, [7]Voice of America, [8]Daily Mail, [9]Reuters and [10]Associated Press.
Narratives
- Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Afghanistan International. The rules are in accordance with Islamic Sharia law, which promotes good and forbids evil. The Taliban issues decrees and legal documents to regulate personal conduct with the sole intention of reforming society, preventing men and women from being corrupted, and aligning the character and behavior of Muslims with Islamic law. The West must stop undermining Afghan customs.
- Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by DAWN.COM. This decree is the Taliban's latest attempt to erase women from public life. The draconian restrictions on freedoms and movements are intended to ensure that women have no public face and are excluded from the social, economic, and political map of the country. The international community can't remain silent about the systematic repression, intimidation, and violation of human rights in Afghanistan.
