Afghanistan prohibits women from speaking in public places

In Afghanistan, the Taliban passed a law banning women from speaking in public and showing their faces, the Associated Press reports.

On Wednesday, the ministry for the “promotion of virtue and prevention of vice” published its laws covering aspects of daily life such as public transport, music, shaving and festivals.

They are outlined in a 114-page document with 35 articles, seen by The Associated Press, which is the first official declaration of the laws of vice and virtue in Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power. These laws provide for penalties such as warnings or arrest.

Article 13, regarding women, states that a woman is obligated to cover her body at all times in public places and that covering her face is essential to avoid temptation. Clothing should not be thin, tight or short.

Women must veil in front of all strange men, including Muslims, and in front of all non-Muslims to avoid corruption. A woman’s voice is considered intimate and should not be heard when singing, reciting, or reading aloud to an audience. Women are forbidden to look at men they are not related to or married to, and vice versa.

Let’s remember that last year in Afghanistan, women were banned from visiting a national park. The Taliban minister said that “outings are not compulsory for women.”

Before this, the Taliban ordered the closure of all beauty salons in Afghanistan.

And since the spring before last, Afghan women can only leave the house if they have “important things,” and only in a burqa, otherwise they must stay indoors.