Afghanistan’s Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has banned women from visiting all parks in the capital, Kabul, because of breaches of Islamic laws.
According to the BBC, women’s rights and freedoms have been severely restricted since the militant Islamists seized power in August 2021.
Under Taliban rules on segregating people by gender, women have been allowed to visit parks on three days every week –- Sunday, Monday, Tuesday – and men on the remaining four.
Now women won’t be allowed even if accompanied by male relatives.
Mohammed Akif, spokesman for the Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, told the BBC: ‘We’ve done this because in the past 15 months, despite our efforts, people have been going to the park and not respecting Sharia laws.
‘The restriction is for all women, whether they are with or without a mahram [male escort].’
The ban on women extends to amusement parks that usually have rides like bumper cars or a ferris wheel, and where families visit together with their children.
The BBC reports that while some women still work in sectors such as healthcare and education, most were told not to go to work after the Taliban swept back to power. In May a decree was passed ordering women to wear the Islamic face veil in public, although some in urban areas can still be seen failing to comply.
The Taliban have vowed there will be no brutal repression of women as there was when they were first in power in the 1990s. They say they now respect women’s rights in line with Sharia law, and are not against women being educated or having jobs.
However, Western diplomats have indicated to the Taliban that resuming development funding for a country in deep economic crisis depends on improvements in the treatment of women.
[Image: Amber Clay from Pixabay]