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The Taliban have passed a new law banning Afghan women from reading and singing in public, as part of the government’s ‘vice prevention’ strategy.
The laws, which were issued last Wednesday, are part of a strict new set of ‘vice and virtue legislation’, which was approved by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.
They cover aspects of everyday life like public transportation, music, shaving and celebrations.
Article 13 specifically relates to women, making it mandatory for females to veil their body at all times in public while emphasising that a face covering is essential to avoid temptation as well as tempting others. It also states that clothing should not be thin, tight or short.
They are also banned from looking at men they are not related to by blood or marriage and vice versa.
Women are also told to cover themselves in front of non-Muslim males and females to avoid being corrupted.
‘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.
The ministry for the ‘propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice’ was set up when the Taliban seized power in 2021, making this recent set of laws the first formal declaration of vice and virtue laws in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.
The laws make it easier for authorities to regulate conduct and enforce arrests and punishments where they deem necessary.
Among the other restrictions imposed by the law are the ban on the publication of images of living beings, the playing of music and the transportation of solo female travelers.
Only last month, a UN report said the ministry was contributing to a climate of fear and intimidation among Afghans.
‘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 U.N. mission in Afghanistan.
At the same time, the Taliban are also calling for more tourists to visit Afghanistan, with a department being created under the ministry to provide services to tourists and train students in the tourism industry and hotel management.
More than 10,179 have visited the country since August 2021, a spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Tourism told CNN.
Ehsan Barakzai, founder of Afghan tour company Destination Afghanistan, says the ‘gate [to Afghanistan] has just opened, so everyone is coming.’
‘The growth of the tourism industry has a positive effect on the country’s economy,’ the spokesperson for the Ministry of Culture said.