The Taliban government in Afghanistan has implemented a new set of laws that prohibit women from appearing in public with uncovered faces or voices. These laws, approved by the supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, were enacted as part of the Taliban’s mission to combat immorality and promote virtue.
The Taliban established a dedicated ministry for “the propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice” after seizing control of Afghanistan in 2021. This ministry released a 114-page document containing 35 articles outlining these laws, which represent the first formal declaration of vice and virtue laws since the Taliban took power.
The ministry spokesperson, Maulvi Abdul Ghafar Farooq, stated on Thursday that these Islamic laws will play a significant role in promoting virtue and eliminating vice.
The laws empower the ministry to regulate personal conduct and impose punishments like warnings or arrests for those who violate them. Notably, Article 13 focuses on women, mandating that women cover their entire bodies in public and require a face covering to avoid temptation and tempting others. Women are obligated to cover themselves in front of non-Muslim men and women to prevent corruption. Additionally, the law dictates that a woman’s voice, deemed intimate, should not be heard in public through singing, recitation, or reading aloud. Women are forbidden from looking at men they are not related to by blood or marriage, and vice versa.
Article 17 of the laws prohibits the publication of images of living beings, raising concerns for the already fragile Afghan media landscape.
Article 19 bans the playing of music, the transportation of solo female travelers, and the mixing of unrelated men and women. The law also compels passengers and drivers to perform prayers at designated times.
According to the ministry website, promoting virtue encompasses activities like prayer, aligning the character and behavior of Muslims with Islamic law, encouraging women to wear hijab, and inviting people to observe the five pillars of Islam. Eliminating vice, on the other hand, involves prohibiting actions deemed forbidden by Islamic law.
Last month, the United Nations (UN) released a report stating that the ministry is contributing to a climate of fear and intimidation among Afghans through its edicts and enforcement methods. The report highlighted the ministry’s expanding role into other areas of public life, including media monitoring and eradicating drug addiction.
“Given the multiple issues outlined in the report, the position expressed by the de facto authorities that this oversight will be increasing and expanding gives cause for significant concern for all Afghans, especially women and girls,” stated Fiona Frazer, the head of the human rights service at the UN mission in Afghanistan.
The Taliban government rejected the UN report.