
<p>As if life for women living under Taliban rule in Afghanistan wasn’t hard enough already, the group’s supreme leader has made official a new morality law that will subjugate them even further.</p>



<p>The Sharia-inspired law requires women to cover their faces and bodies when outside the home, prohibits them from raising their voices in public, and instructs them to remain inside whenever possible. </p>



<p>“When we go out, we’re scared. When we’re on the bus, we’re scared,&#8221; said an anonymous woman who spoke with BBC. &#8220;We don’t dare to take down our masks. We even avoid speaking among ourselves, thinking that if someone from the Taliban hears us they could stop and question us. If we can’t speak, why even live? We’re like dead bodies moving around.”</p>



<p><strong>According to psychologists, the draconian restrictions on women in Afghanistan have birthed a pandemic of depression and suicidal thoughts.</strong> </p>



<p>The new edict, which Taliban chief Hibatullah Akhundzada describes as “promoting virtue,” also requires men to keep beards and mustaches neatly trimmed and forbids them to wear shorts that fall above the knee. It prohibits all Afghans from playing music in public, celebrating non-Muslim holidays, keeping photos of living beings, engaging in homosexual activity, and participating in or organizing animal fighting events. Violations will be punished by the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Ministry (AKA the &#8220;morality police&#8221;). Punishments include verbal warnings, fines, threats, and detention.</p>



<p>When she heard about the new law, the woman who spoke with BBC immediately stopped attending her daily English class even though it was one of the few times she was allowed to leave the house. “I decided not to attend the course anymore, because if I go out, I’ll end up speaking, and then something bad might happen. Maybe I won’t return home safely.” </p>



<p>Understandably, news of Akhundzada’s announcement has provoked outcry from human rights advocates throughout the world. Rosa Otunbayeva, head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, described the law as a &#8216;distressing vision for the nation’s future.’ In a statement, the EU described it as ‘systematic and systemic abuse that could lead to gender persecution &#8211; a crime against humanity &#8211; and will hamper relations with with the international community. </p>



<p><strong>The new limitations will make it even harder for the few women who are brave enough to rebel against the Taliban by operating secret schools &#8211; a necessity for women seeking education past grade six.</strong> </p>



<p>Shireen, who is part of this underground education system, told BBC she asks God every morning to keep her alive until the end of the day. “When the new law came, I explained all its rules to my students and told them things would be more difficult&#8230;[The Taliban] don’t see women as human beings, just as tools whose only place is inside the home.” </p>



<p>The new law was announced during Akhundzada&#8217;s first visit to northern Afghanistan since the takeover in 2022. The supreme leader is rarely seen, preferring to run the country from a secret base of operations in southern Kandahar province. Less than two months before his announcement, Taliban officials participated in a first-of-its-kind, UN-led discussion on engagement with Afghanistan. At the insistence of Taliban officials, women&#8217;s rights activists and Afghan civil society representatives were not allowed to participate in the meeting.</p>



<p>To make matters worse, the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Ministry has refused to cooperate with the UN mission in Afghanistan based on its disapproval of the new law. </p>



<p><strong>Author’s Note:</strong> This is exactly what we predicted would happen when President Joe Biden completely botched the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in 2021.</p>



<p><strong>Sources:<br></strong><a href="https://www.barrons.com/news/taliban-chief-tells-officials-to-enforce-new-morality-law-aba110ed">Taliban Chief Tells Officials to Enforce New Morality Law </a><br><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20rq73p3z4o">If we can’t speak, why live? &#8211; BBC meets women after new Taliban law</a></p>

Afghanistan: Taliban Announces Strict Islamic Law – Women Are in Trouble
