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One of the first actions of the taliban after regaining the power of Afghanistan August 15, 2021 was the reinstatement of the dreaded Ministry of Development, Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. Said institution, from which the “moral police“During his first regime (1996 – 2001), it was the clear warning that the discourse that they would seek to govern in a more”moderateIt was just a pantomime.
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One month and three days was what it took to re-establish the Ministry of Virtue to replace the Ministry of Women, which was permanently closed. With the new entity, the Taliban reimposed a series of radical laws justified in their interpretation of Islamic law or ‘sharia’ that have been criticized – both inside the country and outside of it – for attacking mainly the rights of women and girls
The most recent rule, issued just this week, mandates clothing merchants in the western city of Herat Afghanistan, a “decapitate”The mannequins that they display in their stores. The justification behind this curious measure is that Islamic law prohibits human representations.
“If they limit themselves to covering their heads, or hide the mannequin (totally), the angel of Allah will not enter the store or their house to bless them,” warned the head of the service for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Herat, Aziz Rahman.
The measure, for the moment, only applies to that city, the third largest in the country with 600,000 inhabitants. However, it is not ruled out that it can be adopted at the national level.
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Restrictions: long list
As we mentioned earlier, the implementation of the Ministry of Virtue brought with it restrictions that were especially harmful to the female population. On the day the institution was re-founded, female civil servants, former employees of the Ministry of Women, were prohibited from accessing their jobs.
In parallel, the practice of sports by women was prohibited, and in rural areas it was ordered that they only leave their homes accompanied by a male member of their family.
In late November last year, the Taliban issued a new package of restrictions, this time aimed at the media. In his statement, “they recommended“To avoid broadcasting films that go against”the principles of Islamic sharia and against the values of Afghanistan, (or) foreign and domestic films promoting foreign culture and traditions and immorality”.
Nor is it allowed to insult anyone on television, broadcast soap operas, transmit images where men show their naked torso or any production where a woman acts. In other words, it has been tacitly forbidden to be an actress or a director in Afghanistan.
On the other hand, until now women are allowed to host some television segments, especially the news, but they have the order to cover their hair “properly”.
#Taliban issue 8 new guidelines for media:
1) Don’t broadcast content against Islamic shariah & Afghan values. 2) Don’t promote foreign culture and immorality. 3) Don’t produce entertainment that insults a person (does that mean no satire ?????) (1/3)— Ayesha Tanzeem (@atanzeem) November 21, 2021
Another important point that is restricted for women is education. Since coming to power, the Taliban have banned girls from school. Their justification was that they would enable special environments so that they can be educated without this implying sharing space with men.
One of the main concerns of the Taliban ideology is to avoid the corruption of the female figure by men. An attempt to justify the seclusion of which women are victims in their own country.
Another clear example of this oppression was the provision issued on December 27, 2021, which indicates that women may not travel distances greater than 72 kilometers if they are not accompanied by a male relative.
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In addition, it is forbidden to play music inside the cars and for this, police controls have been installed in the cities to “warn”To those who forget this important rule.
Or the announcement made by officials from the Ministry of Virtue in the northern city of Balkh on January 3, announcing that public toilets would be closed to women. A similar measure is applied in the city of Herat.
THE MODERATION CARD
From the Orwellian ministry, the Taliban have tried to convince the foreign press that their intentions are to preserve morality in the country and that, unlike their first regime, they will seek to be much more inclusive and tolerant.
A chronicle produced by the EFE agency gives an account of how the Ministry’s director of reforms, Mohammad Yahya, explains to his district committees that “they should be patient and behave gently with people, not in a strict way”.
For this, the ministry workers have pages in which they indicate the six steps to approach moral delinquents. EFE explains that these steps range from explaining the vice and advising on how to avoid it to reporting them to the ministry so that they can be taken “special measures“, Not before trying to warn”with an angry tone and scare”To the offender.
Along the same lines, the Taliban have not completely banned cinema or ordered the total confinement of women in their homes. Both points were dictated during the first regime.
“They do not want to give in to their Islamic orthodoxy, in their ultra-conservative version of Islam and that is why they impose those rules. It is true that they have relaxed a bit, now they say, for example, that women will be able to educate themselves but not in mixed classes. But in general, the repression of women continues. It is something very similar to what we saw in Saudi Arabia for many years and now it is relaxing little by little”, comments the Trade the international analyst Francisco Belaunde Matossian.
“On the other hand, they want to access international sources of financing and recover aid funds that are embargoed. For that, they have to show that they mainly respect women. But it is an obvious facade, there is a very slight flexibilization”, He adds.
READ ALSO | Afghanistan: Taliban prohibit women from traveling unaccompanied and without a veil
It should be noted that during the 20 years of conflict after the US invasion of Afghanistan, the country barely survived thanks to international aid. These funds were frozen almost immediately after the Taliban seized power, almost minimizing access to health care and limiting food aid to only what the UN and a handful of humanitarian organizations can provide.
All this is even more alarming when reviewing the data provided, for example, by the World Food Program that warns that 95% of the national population does not have access to food. In addition, Afghanistan faces the worst drought in 27 years, the same that would last at least until March of this year.
“For now, the only thing that has been agreed is emergency humanitarian aid because the situation is very serious and there is a huge risk of famine. From there to getting them to recognize the regime and allow them access to financing, I don’t think this makeup will be of much use to them ”, warns Belaunde Matossian.
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