Taliban bans Afghan women from ‘hearing each other’ in latest oppressive law

The Taliban has enacted yet different instrumentality further oppressing the freedoms of women and girls, this clip issuing a decree that prohibits them from praying aloud oregon reciting the Qur’an successful each other’s presence.

The determination comes aft a bid of alleged “virtue” oregon “morality” laws were implemented successful Afghanistan successful August, laid retired successful a 114-page document that covered immense aspects of mundane nationalist life.

Among the new laws announced successful August were directives making it mandatory for women to veil their full bodies, including their faces, astatine each times successful public. Women were besides forbidden from singing, reciting and speechmaking aloud successful public, arsenic a woman’s dependable is deemed “intimate” and should not beryllium heard.

Women are already excluded from acquisition aft sixth grade, galore nationalist spaces and astir jobs. They are besides prohibited from looking astatine men they are not related to by humor oregon marriage.

During an lawsuit successful eastbound Logar state connected Sunday, the Taliban’s Vice and Virtue Minister Khalid Hanafi said: “It is prohibited for a grown pistillate to recite Quranic verses oregon execute recitations successful beforehand of different grown woman. Even chants of takbir (Allahu Akbar) are not permitted.”

He said that uttering akin expressions similar “subhanallah,” different connection cardinal to the Islamic faith, was besides not allowed. A pistillate was not permitted to execute the telephone to prayer, helium told the gathering.

“Even erstwhile an big pistillate prays and different pistillate passes by, she indispensable not commune loudly capable for them to hear.”

“How could they beryllium allowed to sing if they aren’t adjacent permitted to perceive (each other’s) voices portion praying, fto unsocial for thing else.”

And portion precise details of the Taliban’s ruling are unclear, Afghan quality rights activists person warned it could mean women are efficaciously banned from holding conversations with 1 another.

On Tuesday, the ministry said a country-wide consciousness programme is coming to “contribute to shaping nationalist cognition and expanding consciousness of divine rulings.”

The Taliban acceptable up the ministry for the “propagation of virtuousness and the prevention of vice” aft seizing powerfulness successful 2021.

They banned women from moving astatine non-governmental organizations (NGOs) successful 2022. A pistillate who spoke to Global News said her household was plunged into poorness aft she had to springiness up her occupation astatine an NGO.

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“I americium the breadwinner of my family. We are conscionable 4 persons successful my family: me, my sister and my parents. My begetter is sick now. We don’t person thing successful our room to hole for meal oregon for our night,” she said.

“It’s truthful hard for me. I don’t cognize however I tin proceed my life.”

The hardline laws besides instruct drivers to not transport women without a antheral guardian, and passengers and drivers indispensable execute prayers astatine designated times. Other restrictions see making it amerciable to play music, and men are barred from shaving their beards arsenic good arsenic skipping supplication and spiritual fasts.

Media successful Afghanistan indispensable abide by Sharia law, meaning the work of images depicting surviving beings is forbidden, successful enactment with the Islamic prohibition of idolatry.

A UN report published successful July said the ministry was contributing to a clime of fearfulness and intimidation among Afghans done edicts and the methods utilized to enforce them.

“Given the aggregate issues outlined successful the report, the presumption expressed by the de facto authorities that this oversight volition beryllium expanding and expanding gives cause for important interest for each Afghans, particularly women and girls,” said Fiona Frazer, the caput of the quality rights work astatine the UN ngo successful Afghanistan.

The Taliban rejected the UN report.

— With files from The Associated Press and Global News