Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have banned women’s voices and bare faces in public under new laws approved by the supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada. The Ministry for the “Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice” was established after seizing power in 2021. The laws cover aspects of everyday life like public transportation, music, shaving, and celebrations. They are Afghanistan’s first formal declaration of vice and virtue laws since the takeover.
“Inshallah, we assure you that this Islamic law will be of great help in the promotion of virtue and the elimination of vice,” said ministry spokesman Maulvi Abdul Ghafar Farooq on Thursday.
Article 13 mandates women to veil their bodies at all times in public and face covering to avoid temptation. Clothing should not be thin, tight, or short. Women are obliged to cover themselves in front of non-Muslim males and females to avoid being corrupted. A woman’s voice is deemed intimate, so it should not be heard singing, reciting, or reading aloud in public. It is forbidden for women to look at men they are not related to by blood or marriage and vice versa.
Article 17 bans the publication of images of living beings, threatening an already fragile Afghan media landscape. Article 19 forbids music playing, the transportation of solo female travelers, and the mixing of men and women unrelated to each other. The ministry website states that the promotion of virtue includes prayer, aligning the character and behavior of Muslims with Islamic law, encouraging women to wear hijab, and inviting people to comply with the five pillars of Islam.
A U.N. report last month said the ministry was contributing to a climate of fear and intimidation among Afghans through edicts and methods used to enforce them. The Taliban rejected the U.N. report.
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