London: Despite promises of a moderate rule for women in Afghanistan, in the three years since seizing power from the US-backed government the Taliban have imposed what human rights groups call a “gender apartheid”.
As if things weren’t already bad enough for women in Afghanistan, last Wednesday its supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, made life even worse. He’s now cracking down on the sound of women’s voices in public. According to Akhundzada, ‘a woman’s voice is intimate and so should not be heard singing, reciting, or reading aloud in public’. So now, as well as being shrouded in public, Afghan women must “keep mum”!
Announcing a new set of vice and virtue laws under the Afghan Islamic regime, spokesman Maulvi Abdul Ghafar Farooq explained why they were needed: “Inshallah we assure you that this Islamic law will be of great help in the promotion of virtue and the elimination of vice”, he claimed. Already, freedom of choice in everyday life has been curtailed for everyone in Afghanistan, including men. Farooq insisted that shaving or trimming of beards is prohibited by Sharia Law and men should have a beard that is at least the “length of a fist”. Even the playing of music is prohibited and considered a sin, as it is “a form of corruption and causes displeasure to God”. Music students caught performing in public face severe punishment, such as flogging, imprisonment or even execution. Recently, in the north-western region of Herat, officials from Afghanistan’s Ministry of Vice were seen throwing musical instruments on a bonfire after collecting them from the city. Confirming that over 20,000 instruments had been “confiscated and destroyed” across the country, Vice Ministry spokesman Muhibullah Mukhlis said last week that “promoting music causes moral corruption and playing it will cause the youth to go astray”.
But it’s women, who are suffering the greatest discrimination in this macho-male-dominated country. Despite initial promises of a moderate rule, in the three years since seizing power from the US-backed government the Taliban have imposed what human rights groups call a “gender apartheid”, excluding women and girls from almost every aspect of public life and denying them access to the legal system. Prior to the new “vice and virtue” laws, women and girls were already blocked from attending secondary schools, banned from almost every form of paid employment, prevented from walking in public parks, attending gyms or beauty salons, and told to comply with a strict dress code. The Taliban have also reintroduced public flogging and stoning of women for adultery. It’s no wonder that last year, the United Nations identified Afghanistan as the world’s most repressive country for women.
The 114-page, 35-Article document announced last week by the Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice is the first formal declaration of vice and virtue laws in Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power on 15 August 2021. The laws give the Ministry full responsibility for regulating personal conduct and administering punishments, such as warnings or the arrest of those considered to have broken the laws. Causing most concern is Article 13 which specifically relates to women and contains decrees and enforcement on clothing and male guardians, as well as women’s voices in public. It’s mandatory for a woman to veil her body at all times outside the home as, according to the Taliban, a “covering is essential to avoid temptation and tempting others”. Clothing should not be “thin, short or tight”. Most importantly, “it is forbidden for a woman to look at men they are not related to by blood or marriage”. Women are banned from travelling by themselves or even mixing with men, who are not related to them.
All this has led to Afghan women being scared or unsafe leaving their home alone, owing to the threat of being arrested and the “long-lasting stigma and shame” associated with being taken into police custody. A UN report earlier this year said the decrees from the Taliban are being enforced through arrest, harassment and intimidation. Women interviewed said they felt safer going out with a mahram, or male guardian, but the whole experience was stressful as frequently their mahram would chide them for “wasting time” if they wanted to visit certain shops or stray from a route limited to performing basic necessary tasks. This removed any possibility of “enjoying even micro-moments of stimulation or leisure outside the home”.
When asked for comment on the report, Farooq insisted that any mention that women are scared to go to the shops on account of the morality police enforcing the decrees from the Taliban was “nonsense and untrue.” There is no problem for those women, who have observed hijab, “but as women are naturally weaker than men (sic), then Sharia (Islamic Law) has called mahrams essential when travelling with them for the sake of dignity and respect” he said. A spokesperson from the organisation Human Rights Watch remarked that while this comment was “damning and devastating”, it was not surprising. “Afghan women have effectively been removed from civil society”.
The European Union, which this year has provided Afghanistan with $139 million of aid for humanitarian purposes, was appalled by the “vice and virtue” laws, calling them on Wednesday a “serious blow undermining the rights of women and girls which we cannot tolerate”. Noting that the decree prohibiting women’s voices in public was issued on the third anniversary of a suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport that killed 13 US soldiers and scores of Afghans during the chaotic US withdrawal, the EU spokesperson said “the new laws violate legal obligations and treaties to which Afghanistan is party”. She also noted that the decree “creates another obstacle to normalised relations and recognition by the international community – goals that the Taliban publicly aspires to”, adding that “official recognition of the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan is nearly impossible while restrictions on women and girls remain”.
Although no country recognises the Taliban, many in the region have ties with them. Last Wednesday, the United Arab Emirates accepted the credentials of the Taliban’s ambassador to the oil-rich Gulf Arab state. A UEA official said the decision reaffirmed the government’s determination to contribute to building bridges to help all Afghans. “This includes the provision of humanitarian assistance through development and reconstruction projects, and supporting efforts that work towards regional de-escalation and stability”.
Nevertheless, most women consider that life under the Taliban regime is no longer bearable, claiming that they are living in a countrywide prison. Many want to leave because they do not see any future for themselves or their daughters in Afghanistan. Afghan mothers and fathers are said to be devastated watching the suffering of their daughters as they are being deprived of education, an income and a future. They also find it painful to observe the growing trauma and mental health problems of females in the country as they are gradually removed from society, are no longer able to socialise and are forced to stay at home out of fear of arrest for “improper hijab” or some other offence. No wonder Afghanistan is seen by many as the worst place on earth to be a woman.
John Dobson is a former British diplomat, who also worked in UK Prime Minister John Major’s office between 1995 and 1998. He is currently a visiting fellow at the University of Plymouth.