The edict adds to bans on girls\u2019 education beyond primary and limits women\u2019s work in government and NGOs
\n kabul
\nThe Taliban has issued a new edict barring Afghan women from allowing their voices to be heard by other women, marking an intensified restriction in the series of limitations imposed on women\u2019s lives. Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, the Taliban\u2019s minister of vice and virtue, explained in an audio statement last week that a woman\u2019s voice is considered awrah \u2014 meaning it should be kept private \u2014 and therefore should not be heard in public, including by other women.
\nThis restriction extends even to the recitation of the Quran, Hanafi said, emphasising that if religious expressions such as Takbir are prohibited, singing is equally impermissible.
\nSince taking power in 2021, the Taliban has enforced extensive measures against women, reminiscent of their 1990s rule. These include bans on girls\u2019 education beyond primary school and restrictions on women working in both governmental and international NGOs.
\nAdditional measures prohibit women from leaving home without a male guardian and mandate full body and face coverings. Media restrictions also extend to female news anchors, who must wear masks on TV broadcasts.
\nSamira, a midwife in Herat province, described the Taliban\u2019s increasingly stringent controls, noting that female health workers are now forbidden from speaking with male relatives of patients, complicating medical care. \u201cThey don\u2019t allow us to speak at checkpoints or discuss medical matters in clinics with male family members,\u201d she said.
\nA recent report from UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennet highlighted that the Taliban\u2019s measures now govern nearly all aspects of Afghan women\u2019s lives.
\nAccording to the report, adult men and women who are not relatives are prohibited from viewing each other\u2019s bodies or faces, while Muslim women must cover themselves around \u201cnon-believing\u201d women.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The edict adds to bans on girls\u2019 education beyond primary and limits women\u2019s work in government and NGOs kabul The Taliban has issued a new edict barring Afghan women from allowing their voices to be heard by other women, marking an intensified restriction in the series of limitations imposed on women\u2019s lives. Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":440561,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-440543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n