Taliban reinforces face-covering edict amid global backlash

Women are no longer allowed to appear in public spaces in Afghanistan with their faces uncovered, reports Tolo News. This resulted from the ruling Taliban, who came to power in 2021.

Informally, the restriction on showing faces has been in effect for women in Afghanistan since 2022. However, last week, representatives of the Afghan Ministry of Virtue and Vice Prevention published a 114-page document containing 35 articles, commonly known as the Declaration of Rights and Virtues.

The document regulates many aspects of daily life, such as public transportation, leisure activities, shopping, and more. The mandate to cover faces is just one of many restrictions that have been legally sanctioned through this document.

The introduction of the document banning women from showing their faces was criticized by the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric. As he stated, it is impossible to imagine a good future or progress for Afghanistan if such a law is enforced.

Afghan women have already been banned from much more. Most notably, they have been cut off from education. They cannot attend either high schools or universities. Their education ends at the sixth grade of primary school.

Women in Afghanistan are not allowed to be in public places such as parks. If they want to travel more than 80 kilometres, they must have a male guardian with them, usually a male family member. Women have virtually no opportunities in the job market, which further translates into economic violence.

The Ministry of Virtue and Vice Prevention is not only combating women. Its representatives boasted last week of destroying over 21,000 musical instruments (music has been banned). Beliefs other than Islam are also being combated.

The Taliban government has refused entry to the United Nations envoy, Richard Bennett.

Mr. Bennett's trips to Afghanistan have been banned because he was appointed to spread propaganda in Afghanistan. He is not someone we trust. He exaggerated minor issues and propagated them — said Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, quoted by Tolo News.

The Taliban’s rule has not been recognized by any country in the world, although some—such as China and Russia—maintain economic and diplomatic relations with Afghanistan.