The Taliban government in Afghanistan has introduced a controversial new policy aimed at further restricting the freedoms of women.
Under the latest decree, Afghan women are prohibited from speaking loudly inside their homes to prevent their voices from being heard outside.
The measure, which expands upon previous restrictions, also includes a ban on women looking at men and speaking loudly in public.
The Telegraph reports that the Taliban has introduced stringent new rules for Afghan citizens in a 114-page document. Among the new orders, adult women are prohibited from making eye contact with unfamiliar men.
Women must also cover their faces to prevent temptation and avoid speaking in the presence of men who are not relatives or husbands.
However, women are instructed to keep their voices low inside their homes to avoid being heard outside.
Zainab, a former civil servant in Kabul, told The Telegraph, “The international community’s engagement with the Taliban has emboldened them to further suppress women.”
She criticised the regime’s disregard for women’s existence, noting the new regulations’ severe restrictions.
The rules mandate that women must cover their entire bodies in public, with their faces and voices concealed from men if they leave their homes. They are also barred from singing or reading the Koran publicly, and their clothing must not be thin, tight, or short.
Taxi drivers are instructed not to transport women without a hijab or an adult male guardian, and mixing genders or playing music in vehicles is prohibited. Violations of these rules will result in arrest and imprisonment.
Men are also restricted by these rules, which include bans on looking at women’s faces in public, wearing tight or short clothing, and trimming or shaving their beards.
These new measures have sparked outrage among Afghan women, who have already faced numerous restrictions, including bans on working with aid agencies, entering parks, and travelling without male guardians. Since the Taliban’s return to power, girls over 12 have been excluded from education.
Zainab, who lost her job when the Taliban took control in 2021, expressed deep concern: “They’ve essentially created a massive cage for us called Afghanistan. I’m very worried about what lies ahead.”
She also noted the uncertainty around acceptable hijabs and the Taliban’s practice of arresting women not accompanied by male guardians.
In 2021, the Taliban established the “Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice” in the former women’s affairs department.
Meanwhile, a UN report from July 2024 highlighted the ministry’s role in fostering a climate of fear and intimidation through its decrees and enforcement methods.
Zainab lamented, “They’re dragging us back to the stone age. Society is no longer normal.”
