The Taliban said the decision came because the women reportedly do not wear the hijab.
Kabul:
The Taliban on Monday barred families and women from restaurants with gardens or green spaces in Afghanistan’s Herat province, Fox News reported.
The decision comes after religious clerics complained about gender mixing at such places. Afghan officials said the restrictions were imposed because of gender mixing or for women allegedly not wearing the hijab. So far, the ban only applies to restaurants with green spaces in Herat province.
The outdoor dining ban only applies to establishments in Herat, where such premises remain open to men. As Fox News reports, Baz Mohammad Nazir, a deputy official at the Directorate of Ministry and Virtue in Herat, denied media reports that all restaurants were restricted to families and women, dismissing them as propaganda.
He said this only applies to restaurants with green areas, such as parks, where men and women can mix. “After repeated complaints from scholars and common people, we set limits and shut down these restaurants.”
Azizurrahman Al Muhajir, deputy and head of the Directorate of Virtue in Herat, said, “It was like a park but they named it a restaurant and men and women were together. Thank God it has been fixed now.” Also, we have our auditors.” Visiting all the parks where men and women go.”
It was the latest of the restrictions imposed by the Taliban since taking power in August 2021. They have excluded girls from sixth grade onwards and women from universities, from most forms of employment, including jobs at the United Nations. They are also banned in public places like parks and gyms.
Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) provided assistance to the Taliban with the lifting of restrictions on Afghan working women, TOLO News reported.
The European Union said that the ban on women working for UN organizations violates international law and that aid cannot be given to Afghanistan regardless of gender, aid activities will be reconsidered.
The United Nations said the organization’s 3,300 men and women staff have been staying at home since a ban on women working in UN agencies was lifted.
Ever since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021, the situation for women in the country has worsened. Women are prohibited from holding leadership positions in the country, and are not allowed to work as well as travel unless accompanied by a male companion.
The Taliban had promised to reopen all schools on March 23 this year, but instead, they closed secondary institutions for girls on that day.
There is still no word on when or if these schools will reopen or if the ban is indefinite.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)