Taliban enacts law banning women’s voices in public spaces in Afghanistan

Afghanistan’s Taliban government has ratified a so-called morality law that tightens repression against women. It includes measures such as banning their voices from being heard in public spaces and their faces from being seen in the street: they will have to be covered under the mandatory full-face veil. It is the first formal declaration of laws “on vice and virtue” since the fundamentalist group retook power by force in August 2021 following the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country.

The document, which consists of over 100 pages with 35 articles, was officially promulgated and published Wednesday after being ratified by the supreme spiritual leader, Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada. The measures affect, for the most part, women: it is established as necessary that they cover their faces and bodies to avoid “causing temptation,” and as such “they should not wear attractive, tight, or revealing clothes.” Women are also forbidden from using cosmetics or perfume, with the ultimate aim of preventing them from imitating “the dress styles of non-Muslim women.”

One of the most severe measures is to prevent women from speaking in public, including activities such as singing, reciting, or speaking into a microphone. The new law even prohibits women from looking at men who they are not related to. “The implementation of Sharia [Islamic law] and the hijab is our red line. We cannot negotiate with anyone on these issues,” said the Minister of Virtue and Vice, Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, according to the Afghan channel Tolo News.

The United Nations considers that since 2021, when the Taliban came to power after the withdrawal of Western forces and suspended the Constitution, the situation of women in Afghanistan could be considered as a “gender apartheid,” in the words of special rapporteur Richard Bennett. The expert stated at the time that the situation for Afghan women is “the worst” of country worldwide.

Many of the dress-related restrictions have been in place over the past three years, but this law provides the first legal basis for enforcing them. The law also includes rules for men: they cannot wear ties, nor trim their beards below the length of a fist under their chin. Neither can they comb their hair. As regards their role in public spaces, men cannot look at, let alone approach, women to whom they are not related. Bus drivers must refuse transport to female passengers who are not accompanied by a man. In addition, the new law requires media outlets to abide by Sharia law, prohibiting the publication of images containing living beings.

Penalties for any of these violations include “counseling, warnings of divine punishment, verbal threats, confiscation of property, detention from one hour to three days in public jails, and any other punishment deemed appropriate,” the Justice Ministry said. If these measures fail to correct an individual’s behavior, he or she would be referred to court for further action.

According to the Taliban, the law is in accordance with Islamic Sharia law. The de facto authorities reported last week that more than 13,000 people had been arrested in the past year for violating morality laws, although they did not break down the alleged crimes or the genders of those arrested. Half of those detentions lasted less than 24 hours. This law is the seventh to be ratified by the Taliban, according to the Justice Ministry, with others relating to property, financial services, and the prevention of begging.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition