Afghanistan: New Taliban Law Bans Women From Showing Their Faces And Speaking In Public

Taliban security personnel stand guard as an Afghan burqa-clad woman (R) walks along a street at a market in the Baharak district of Badakhshan province on February 26, 2024.

The Taliban on Monday rejected criticisms announced by the United Nations over new laws that ban women in Afghanistan from baring their faces and speaking in public places. 

Roza Otunbayeva, who heads the U.N. mission in the country, “UNAMA,” said on Sunday that the laws provided a “distressing vision” for Afghanistan’s future. She also said that the laws extend the “already intolerable restrictions” on rights of women and girls. 

“After decades of war and in the midst of a terrible humanitarian crisis, the Afghan people deserve much better than being threatened or jailed if they happen to be late for prayers, glance at a member of the opposite sex who is not a family member, or possess a photo of a loved one,” Otunbayeva said.

This comes after the terrorist organization published the new laws last week, approved by their supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada. It declares that women must completely cover their bodies, including their faces, in thick clothing at all times in public in order to avoid “leading men” into temptation and adultery.

“Adultery or extramarital sex is considered as the infringement of matrimonial bond and is regarded as one of the foremost crimes condemned by Allah,” according to advocatekhoj.com. “Under Islamic laws in an Islamic state, it is not lawful to shed the blood of a Muslim except for one of the three sins: a married person committing fornication, and in just retribution for premeditated murder, and [for sin of treason involving] a person renouncing Islam, and thus leaving the community [to join the enemy camp in order to wage war against the faithful.”

Zabihullah Mujahid, the main spokesman for the Taliban’s government, issued a statement warning against “arrogance” for those who he said may not be familiar with Islamic law, specifically non-Muslims who might express reservations or objections.

“We urge a thorough understanding of these laws and a respectful acknowledgment of Islamic values. To reject these laws without such understanding is, in our view, an expression of arrogance,” he said.

Mujahid also responded to the UNAMA statement, saying, “We must stress that the concerns raised by various parties will not sway the Islamic Emirate from its commitment to upholding and enforcing Islamic law.”

The Japanese Embassy in Kabul expressed its deep concern about the continuing restrictions on women and girls as announced in the laws. 

Additionally, the embassy said on X (Twitter) on Monday, that it would keep pleading to authorities to “listen to the voice of Afghan women and girls for education, employment, and freedom of movement” for the future of the country.

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