Afghan women wearing burqas walk through a market in Kandahar on August 24, 2024. | Photo credit: AFP
The United Nations mission in Afghanistan said on Sunday (August 25) that it was “concerned” about the incident. Morality law recently approved by Taliban authoritiesIn particular the restrictions on women were criticised.
Taliban officials on Wednesday announced the codification of a 35-article law detailing sweeping behavioural and lifestyle restrictions based on their strict interpretation of Islamic law.
The law provides for a graded set of penalties for noncompliance – ranging from verbal warnings to threats, fines and detention for varying periods – which are imposed by the morality police under the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Misbehaviour.
“This is a worrying scenario for the future of Afghanistan, where ethics inspectors have discretionary powers to intimidate and detain anyone based on a broad and sometimes vague list of violations,” said Roza Otunbayeva, head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
“After decades of war and in the midst of a terrible humanitarian crisis, Afghan people deserve better than being threatened or jailed for arriving late for prayer, looking at a member of the opposite sex who is not a family member, or holding a photo of a loved one,” Ms. Otunbayeva said.
Many components of the law have already been informally implemented since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, and it is unclear whether their formal codification will lead to stricter enforcement.
Women have borne the brunt of restrictions that the United Nations has labeled “gender apartheid”, which have seen them excluded from public life.
Ms Otunbayeva said the law “extends already intolerable restrictions on the rights of Afghan women and girls, to the point where even a female voice outside the home is considered a moral violation”.
According to the law, women must cover their face and body when leaving the house, and also ensure that their voices are not heard by anyone.
The United Nations also expressed concern over restrictions on religious and press freedom in the law, which states that the media must not publish material “hostile to Sharia law and religion” or “material showing living beings”.
However, it said the law also has some positive provisions, including a ban on the abuse of orphans and “bacha bazi” or “boys’ games”, where grown men force boys to dress like girls and sexually abuse them.