Kabul: Afghan Taliban officials said on Sunday that women traveling long distances should not be offered road transport unless they are accompanied by a close male relative.
Guidance issued by the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, which called on vehicle owners to forbid women not wearing headscarves to ride, has drawn condemnation from rights activists.
The move comes after the Taliban barred many women in public sector roles from returning to work in the wake of the August 15 capture of power, and since girls are largely cut out of secondary schooling.
It also comes despite radical Islamists trying to project a liberal image internationally, when the previous government bid to restore aid suspended during the final stages of a US military withdrawal.
“Women traveling more than 45 miles (72 kilometres) should not be offered a ride if they are not accompanied by a family member,” ministry spokesman Sadiq Akif Muhajir told AFP on Sunday. ,
The new guidance circulated on social media networks also asked people to stop playing music in their vehicles.
Weeks ago, the ministry asked television channels in Afghanistan to stop showing dramas and soap operas featuring female actors. It also called for women TV journalists to wear head scarves while presenting.
The muhajir said on Sunday that the hijab, an Islamic headscarf, would also be necessary for women seeking transport.
The Taliban’s definition of the hijab – which can range from a covering of hair to a veil over the face or covering the entire body – is vague, and most afghan women Already wear a headscarf.
Human Rights Watch flouted the guidance.
“This new order essentially moves forward … towards making women prisoners,” Heather Barr, associate director of the women’s rights group, told AFP.
“It shuts down opportunities for them to be able to move around freely, travel to another city, do business,[or]face violence in the home,” Barr said.
Earlier this month, the Taliban issued a decree named after its supreme leader instructing the government to enforce women’s rights.
But it did not mention girls’ access to education.
On Sunday, Afghanistan’s Higher Education Minister Abdul Baqi Haqqani said officials were discussing the issue.
“The Islamic Emirate is not against women’s education, but against co-education,” Haqqani told reporters.
“We are working on creating an Islamic environment where women can study … this may take some time,” she said, without specifying when girls could return to school and university classes across the country.
Women’s rights were severely curtailed during the Taliban’s last term in power in the 1990s.
They were forced to wear a face-covering burqa, were allowed to leave home with only a male guardian, and were banned from work and education.
Respect for women’s rights has been repeatedly cited by major global donors as a condition for resumption of aid.
The United Nations has warned that Afghanistan is facing an “avalanche of hunger” this winter, estimating that 22 million civilians face an “acute” shortage of food.
Guidance issued by the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, which called on vehicle owners to forbid women not wearing headscarves to ride, has drawn condemnation from rights activists.
The move comes after the Taliban barred many women in public sector roles from returning to work in the wake of the August 15 capture of power, and since girls are largely cut out of secondary schooling.
It also comes despite radical Islamists trying to project a liberal image internationally, when the previous government bid to restore aid suspended during the final stages of a US military withdrawal.
“Women traveling more than 45 miles (72 kilometres) should not be offered a ride if they are not accompanied by a family member,” ministry spokesman Sadiq Akif Muhajir told AFP on Sunday. ,
The new guidance circulated on social media networks also asked people to stop playing music in their vehicles.
Weeks ago, the ministry asked television channels in Afghanistan to stop showing dramas and soap operas featuring female actors. It also called for women TV journalists to wear head scarves while presenting.
The muhajir said on Sunday that the hijab, an Islamic headscarf, would also be necessary for women seeking transport.
The Taliban’s definition of the hijab – which can range from a covering of hair to a veil over the face or covering the entire body – is vague, and most afghan women Already wear a headscarf.
Human Rights Watch flouted the guidance.
“This new order essentially moves forward … towards making women prisoners,” Heather Barr, associate director of the women’s rights group, told AFP.
“It shuts down opportunities for them to be able to move around freely, travel to another city, do business,[or]face violence in the home,” Barr said.
Earlier this month, the Taliban issued a decree named after its supreme leader instructing the government to enforce women’s rights.
But it did not mention girls’ access to education.
On Sunday, Afghanistan’s Higher Education Minister Abdul Baqi Haqqani said officials were discussing the issue.
“The Islamic Emirate is not against women’s education, but against co-education,” Haqqani told reporters.
“We are working on creating an Islamic environment where women can study … this may take some time,” she said, without specifying when girls could return to school and university classes across the country.
Women’s rights were severely curtailed during the Taliban’s last term in power in the 1990s.
They were forced to wear a face-covering burqa, were allowed to leave home with only a male guardian, and were banned from work and education.
Respect for women’s rights has been repeatedly cited by major global donors as a condition for resumption of aid.
The United Nations has warned that Afghanistan is facing an “avalanche of hunger” this winter, estimating that 22 million civilians face an “acute” shortage of food.
,