Since taking power in 2021, the Taliban has attempted to police the public appearance and behavior of millions of Afghans, especially women.
But enforcement of the extremist group’s rules governing morality, including a strict Islamic dress code and gender segregation in society, has been sporadic and uneven across the country.
The hardline Islamist group has now formally codified its long set of draconian restrictions into law, prompting fears among Afghans of tougher enforcement.
The Law for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, which was officially passed and published on August 21, places strict restrictions on women’s appearance, behavior and movement. The law also enforces restrictions on men.
Adela, a middle-aged woman, is the sole breadwinner of her family of ten. She fears the new morality law will erode the few rights women still have.
The Taliban allowed some women, especially in health and education, to work outside their homes.
“I’m afraid that Afghan women will no longer be able to go to work,” Adela, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi.
Dilawar, a resident of the capital Kabul, warned of a public backlash if the Taliban stepped up enforcement of its widely hated restrictions.
“The youth are suffering from extreme unemployment. Oppressing them…will create a reaction,” the 26-year-old, whose name has also been changed due to security concerns, told Radio Azadi.
A long list of restrictions
The new morality law consists of 35 articles, many of which are aimed at women.
Women must cover their faces and bodies fully in public and are prohibited from wearing “sheer, tight or short” clothing. The law also prohibits women from raising their voices or singing in public.
Women must also be accompanied by a male escort when they leave their homes and cannot use public transport without a male escort.
The law prohibits unrelated adult men and women from looking at each other in public.
Men must also dress modestly, even when playing sports or exercising. They are forbidden to shave or trim their beards. Men are also forced to attend prayers and fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
“(Men) should not cut their hair, which violates Islamic Sharia law,” says one article of the law. “Befriending and helping (non-Muslim) infidels and imitating their appearance” is prohibited.
Afghans are prohibited from “using or promoting” crosses, ties and other symbols considered Western.
Premarital sex and homosexuality are prohibited. Drinking alcohol, using illegal drugs and gambling are considered serious offences.
Playing or listening to music in public is prohibited. Meanwhile, celebrations of non-Muslim holidays, including Norouz, the Persian New Year, are also banned.
The Taliban’s feared morality police are responsible for enforcing the morality law. The force, believed to number several thousand, is under the supervision of the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
According to the new law, the powers of the morality police have been expanded.
Under the law, members of the force will be deployed across the country to oversee compliance. Moral police officers are instructed to warn offenders. Repeat offenders can be detained, fined and even have their property confiscated.
The morality police can detain offenders for up to three days and hand out punishments “as deemed fit” without trial.
The Taliban revealed last week that the force detained more than 13,000 Afghans in the past year for violating the extremist group’s morality rules.
‘Infernal conditions’
The Taliban’s morality law has been widely condemned by Afghans, Western countries and human rights organizations.
The Taliban has defended a law he claims is “firmly rooted in Islamic teachings”.
“This new law is deeply damaging,” said Heather Barr, deputy women’s rights director at Human Rights Watch. “It represents a tightening and institutionalization of these rules by giving them the status of law.”
She said the law was a “serious escalation” and a “rapid move to even more hellish conditions for Afghan women and girls”.
Roza Otunbaeva, Head of Department United Nations Assistance Mission in AfghanistanOn 25 August, he called the law a “disturbing vision for Afghanistan’s future” because the Taliban’s morality police would have broad powers to “threaten and detain anyone based on broad and sometimes vague lists of offences”.
Obaidullah Baheer, a politics lecturer at the American University of Afghanistan, said parts of the morality bill were “extremely vague”.
Still, the morality police have broad powers, including “arbitrarily” punishing people without due process, he said.
“(It’s) making them judge, jury and executioner,” Baheer said.
