The periphery of Women's Rights has narrowed further in Afghanistan, with the Taliban releasing a 114-page harsh new Morality Code of Conduct for the Afghan women. The Taliban has introduced rules, preventing women from speaking loudly in public or indo…
The periphery of Women's Rights has narrowed further in Afghanistan, with the Taliban releasing a 114-page harsh new Morality Code of Conduct for the Afghan women. The Taliban has introduced rules, preventing women from speaking loudly in public or indoors!
In a report, The Telegraph of Britain recently described the 114-page Moral Code of Conduct issued by the Taliban Government in Kabul as a gross violation of Women's Rights. It is clearly mentioned in the new Code that "it is forbidden for adult women to look at strange men". "Women have also been ordered to cover their faces 'to avoid temptation and tempting others', and refrain from speaking in the presence of unfamiliar men - who are not, for example, husbands or relatives," reported the British daily.
The Taliban Regime also has made it mandatory for women to cover their bodies at all times in public. Also, their clothing must not be thin, tight or short. As per the new rules, "If it is necessary for women to leave their homes, they must cover their faces and voices from men." Furthermore, women have been banned from singing or reciting the Quran in public.
The Taliban Government has instructed taxi drivers not to transport "women without a hijab or those without an adult male guardian". Playing music in vehicles and allowing the mixing of women with men are explicitly listed among the prohibited actions. The Taliban stated that women who defy the new rules would be arrested and sent to prison!
As expected, the new Code of Conduct has sparked outrage among Afghan women. Experts are of the opinion that the new rules have not only hurt Women's Rights, but have also created an obstacle to Afghanistan's integration into the mainstream global order! Zainab, a former civil servant, told The Telegraph: "The international community's engagement with the Taliban has emboldened them to further suppress women." She stressed: "These are radical individuals in power who refuse to acknowledge our existence."
Afghan men have been asked to follow some rules, too! The Telegraph reported on August 22, 2024 that "Men are banned from looking at women's faces in public and wearing tight or short clothing while 'they are in public or exercising sports'. They are also barred from trimming and shaving their beards."
It may be noted that the Taliban had banned girls from attending high schools and colleges in March 2022, nine months after regaining power in Afghanistan (on August 15, 2021). The international community strongly criticised the decision. At that time, Taliban Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani claimed that his Government was not at all against girls' education, but stopped it for a few months to look into several aspects, including the dress code. Later, he said that girls' education in the country was a domestic matter and other countries should not interfere in it. Since then, the doors of higher education have not been opened for girls.
In its latest report, UNESCO has mentioned that at least 1.4 million girls have been deprived of schooling in Afghanistan in the last three years due to the strict Taliban rules. As per the report, the promise made by forces of Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada to protect girls' Right to Education immediately after returning to power on August 15, 2021 has not been fulfilled. Now, Afghan girls only have access to primary education, and the number of girl students is decreasing rapidly! UNESCO has predicted that child labour and child marriage may increase because of this. Amidst such a situation, the Taliban has issued the new Moral Code of Conduct.
The UN, too, has stated that rules imposed by the Taliban gradually shrink the limits of Women's Rights. Roza Isakovna Otunbayeva, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), has strongly condemned the Taliban's diktat for women, saying: "Afghanistan is now the most repressive country for women." She claimed that the South Asian country would become increasingly isolated from the world!
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