The New Restrictions on Women’s Liberty
The new restrictive’ vice and virtue' laws, approved by the Taliban’s supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, were issued in Afghanistan last Wednesday. The laws include several restrictions and amendments on various aspects of everyday life, such as shaving, clothing, celebrations, music, pictures, and even speaking.
One of the new regulations, outlined in Article 13, pertains specifically to women's attire in public spaces. The article mandates that women must cover their bodies while in public, with an emphasis on the use of face veils to prevent what the regulation describes as the potential for leading men into temptation. Additionally, the regulation requires women to cover themselves in the presence of non-Muslim individuals, regardless of the latter's gender, as a measure to avoid what is termed corruption. The guidelines stipulate that women's clothing should not be short, transparent, or form-fitting. Moreover, the article prohibits women from making eye contact with men to whom they are not related by blood or marriage and imposes a reciprocal restriction on men.
With the legalization of Article 13, women are also restricted from using taxis without a 'suitable male escort.' Taxi drivers who disobey this regulation are subject to penalties imposed by official authorities.
While these restrictions are oppressive in nature and limit women's liberty, similar strict conditions have long been the case in Afghanistan which is under the rule of the Taliban. Women attempting to disobey the totalitarian ways and oppressive rules of the Taliban face various forms of violence sanctioned by the authorities responsible for enforcing these laws, including severe punishments such as stoning.
The Global Media and Political Scene’s Concerns
What sparked significant concern within the international political community was not the Taliban's familiar and harsh practices, but a newer, more dystopian measure. The recently ratified article states, “A woman’s voice is considered intimate and so should not be heard in public. And should never be heard singing, reading, or reciting out loud, even when inside of their houses.” Many have noted the troubling resemblance between this law and the plot of Christina Dalcher's dystopian novel Vox. This newly instituted rule is viewed by many as a potential precursor to the further suppression of women's voices in Afghanistan.
Recent laws restricting women’s ability to speak publicly and show their faces have been criticized by the UN and human rights organizations globally. These regulations, which argue that women’s faces and voices are sources of temptation and vice, have been condemned as violations of fundamental human rights. On Sunday, three days after the ratification of the new laws, Roza Otunbayeva, the UN’s representative for Afghanistan, criticized the latest legislation. She said that it’s yet another “intolerable restriction” on the rights of women ever since the Taliban took over the ultimate authority of Afghanistan in 2021. In her own words, “It is a distressing vision for Afghanistan’s future, where moral inspectors have discretionary powers to threaten and detain anyone based on broad and sometimes vague lists of infractions. It extends the already intolerable restrictions on the rights of Afghan women and girls, with even the sound of a female voice outside the home apparently deemed a moral violation.”
Mir Abul Wahid Sadat, president of the Afghan Lawyers Association, provided a legal analysis of the news in an interview with Rukhshana Media. He stated that the new laws contradicted Afghanistan’s domestic and international legal obligations: “From a legal standpoint this document faces serious issues,” he expressed. “It contradicts the fundamental principles of Islam, the promotion of virtue has never been defined through force, coercion, or tyranny. This document not only violates Afghanistan’s domestic laws but also broadly contravenes all 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
Fawzia Koofi, an Afghan human rights activist and formerly Afghanistan’s first woman vice-president of the parliament, also communicated her views about the recent restrictions to the media. She stated, “The Taliban government does not have any sort of legitimacy and these new edicts designed to further erase and suppress women are an indication of their hatred towards women.” Koofi commented on and expressed her disappointment with the lack of worldwide attention to the deteriorating freedom of Afghan women, “When they say women cannot speak in public as they regard women’s voices as a form of intimacy it is incredibly frightening yet the whole world acts like this is normal. There have been very few reactions or comments to what is happening and the Taliban are emboldened by this indifference. It is not only women but all human beings they are targeting. They must be held accountable.”
Another political figure who expressed their opinions on the situation was Shukria Barakzai, previously a former Afghan parliamentarian and Afghanistan’s former ambassador to Norway. She agreed that the international media’s disinterest in the Taliban’s oppression of Afghan women and girls played a key role in the recent illegalization of women’s voices and bodies. “It is concerning that international organizations, particularly the United Nations and the European Union, instead of standing against these inhumane practices, are trying to normalize relations with the Taliban,” she said. “They are, in a way, whitewashing this group, disregarding the fact that the Taliban are committing widespread human rights violations.”
The Taliban’s Disapproving Response to the Concerns
On Monday, The Taliban rejected the UN’s public expression of concern over the new vice and virtue laws that were issued last Wednesday, ultimately banning women from showing their faces and speaking in public spaces. Zabihullah Mujahid, the main spokesman of the Taliban’s ruling, released a statement that warned against the “presumption” from those who did not have a correct comprehension or familiarity with the Islamic law, particularly calling out the non-Muslim individuals who expressed their criticism or objection to the matter. “We urge a thorough understanding of these laws and a respectful acknowledgment of Islamic values. To reject these laws without such understanding is, in our view, an expression of arrogance,” he stated.
As a response to the UNAMA statement given by Otubayeva, he added “We must stress that the concerns raised by various parties will not sway the Islamic Emirate from its commitment to upholding and enforcing Islamic law.”
The Taliban’s denial in response to the widespread denunciation and unease expressed by supranational entities such as the United Nations and various human rights organizations regarding their recent ‘vice and virtue’ regulations illustrates a troubling reality—and possibly an even more troubling future.
While the Taliban remains to hold the ultimate authority and power in Afghanistan, it’s imperative to initiate a change for the better by raising global awareness through diverse media platforms, ensuring that worldwide attention remains firm in advocating for the rights of Afghan women.
