Afghanistan: Taliban bans women from parks in Kabul

Taliban banned afghan women access to the parks and gardens of Kabul, one of the last places of freedom they had in the face of severe restrictions imposed by the fundamentalist regime. Islamic.

At the beginning of the week Taliban asked those responsible for parks and gardens to close their doors in front of womenas confirmed by AFP reporters in the capital.

Until now, differentiated hours and days have been established in order to men and women they won’t cross

“In many places the rules were broken,” he justified on Wednesday before AFP Mohammad Akif Sadeq Mohajir, spokesman for the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.

“There was a mixture, and the hijab (veil covering the head and neck) was not respected. That is why the decision was made,” he added.

Sitting in a restaurant Kabul overlooking the city park, Wahida watches her children play through the glass but is unable to accompany them.

“No school, no job, we should at least have a place to have fun,” the mother told AFP, upset that she was denied entry to the park.

Since his return to power in August 2021 after twenty years of war and withdrawal US troops, Taliban they imposed a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam.

The authorities did not stop curtailing freedom women: They are forced to wear a full veil, they cannot complete their secondary education, and they are forbidden to travel alone outside their city.

Parks were one of the last spaces of freedom.

“We need a place to have fun, our mental health is at stake. It is enough for us to stay at home all day long, we are tired of all this,” despairs Vakhida, unemployed, like her husband.

At the next table, Raikhana, 21, shares the same grief. “We were very excited about the idea of ​​coming to the park. We are tired of staying at home,” says a young woman who enjoys ice cream with her sisters.

Islamic law student Raihana is upset by this new measure. “Obviously Islam allows you to go out and visit the parks,” he says.

“Muslims should have fun”

A few kilometers, in the upper part of the river. Kabulferris wheel of the most important park in Afghanistan paralyzed. As well as swings, wagons and other attractions in the complex.

Only a handful of men walk the quiet streets of Zazai Park, which was created over six years ago. Before the Taliban restrictions, it could receive up to 15,000 visitors a day on weekends.

His co-CEO does not understand this decision, which dooms him to the end of a business in which he has invested $ 11 million and employs about 250 people.

“Without women, children will not appear on their own,” says Habib Jan Zazai. “I would like the Taliban to present us with convincing arguments,” he laments.

“In Islam, you are allowed to be happy. Islam does not allow people to be locked in their homes,” says this man in his thirties.

“With these decisions they are going to scare off investors. And without businessmen who pay taxes, how will they be able to function?” he asks.

Qur’anic school teacher in the city of Kandahar, a stronghold of the Taliban, Mohammad TamimThe 20-year-old denounces “the bad news” as he sips tea with friends in the park.

“Every person psychologically needs to have fun, learn… Muslims need to have fun, especially after 20 years of war,” he defends.

(AFP)