Afghans must abide by strict morality codes published this week, ranging from requiring women to cover their faces and men to grow beards, to banning drivers of cars from playing music, Reuters reports.
The justice ministry in Kabul said the rules, which were in line with Islamic sharia law and to be enforced by the morality ministry, were based on a decree by the Taliban’s supreme spiritual leader in 2022.
In a statement, the justice ministry said that penalties for violations included “advice, warnings of divine punishment, verbal threats, confiscation of property, detention for one hour to three days in public jails, and any other punishment deemed appropriate”.
Reuters says that Western countries, led by the US, have said that the route to formal recognition of the Taliban will be blocked until Kabul reverses course on women’s rights and opens high schools to girls.
The Taliban’s restrictions on women and freedom of expression have drawn sharp criticism from rights groups and many foreign governments since the former insurgents resumed control of Afghanistan in 2021.
Reuters quotes Heather Barr, associate director of Human Rights Watch’s women’s rights division, as saying: “A lot of these rules were in place already but less formally and now they are being formalised. I think this is a sign of what we’ve been seeing over the last three years, which is a steady and gradual escalation of the crackdown.”
Afghanistan’s morality ministry, formally called the ministry for the prevention of vice and propagation of virtue, has already been enforcing similar morality requirements and says it has detained thousands of people for violations. It was not immediately clear whether publication of the rules would lead to stronger enforcement.
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