Taliban bans women’s voices and bare faces in public in Afghanistan

Islamabad: Afghanistan's Taliban rulers have issued a ban on women's voices and bare faces in public under new laws approved by the supreme leader in efforts to combat vice and promote virtue. The laws were issued on Wednesday after they were approved by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, a government spokesman said. The Taliban had set up a ministry for the 'propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice' after seizing power in 2021.

The ministry published its vice and virtue laws on Wednesday that cover aspects of everyday life like public transportation, music, shaving and celebrations. They are set out in a 114-page, 35-article document seen by The Associated Press and are the first formal declaration of vice and virtue laws in Afghanistan since the takeover. Vice and Virtue Ministry officials were not immediately available for comment about the laws.

The laws empower the ministry to be at the frontline of cracking down on personal conduct, administering punishments like warnings or arrest if they allege Afghans have broken the laws. Article 13 relates to women. It says it is mandatory for a woman to veil her body at all times in public and that a face covering is essential to avoid temptation and tempting others. Clothing should not be thin, tight or short.

Muslim 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 and so should not be heard singing, reciting poetry, 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, which threatens an already fragile Afghan media landscape.

Article 19 bans the playing of music, the transportation of solo female travellers, and the mixing of men and women who are not related to each other. The law also obliges passengers and drivers to perform prayers at designated times. Last month, a UN report said the ministry was contributing to a climate of fear and intimidation among Afghans through edicts and the methods used to enforce them. It said the ministry's role was expanding into other areas of public life, including media monitoring and eradicating drug addiction. 

"Given the multiple issues outlined in the report, the position expressed by the de facto authorities that this oversight will be increasing and expanding gives cause for significant concern for all Afghans, especially women and girls," said Fiona Frazer, the head of the human rights service at the UN mission in Afghanistan.