The Ministry of Morals will oversee the implementation of the rules. More than 13,000 people were arrested in the past year, half of whom were held for 24 hours. Specific rules are also laid down for the media, such as a ban on showing images of living beings. Sanctions include advice, warnings of divine punishment, verbal threats, confiscation of property and imprisonment.
Kabul () – After having promulgated a series of controversial norms limiting women’s rights and repressing religious freedom, the Taliban in power in Afghanistan recently approved the formal codification of a series of norms on morality in relation to various areas. According to the Ministry of Justice, they cover everything from clothing to daily life, starting with the obligation for women to cover their faces and men to cover their beards, up to the prohibition of listening to music for those driving cars or using public transport.
The rules, which comply with the dictates of Sharia (Islamic law), will be enforced by the Ministry of Morals and are based on a decree by the Taliban’s supreme spiritual leader from 2022. They were officially published a few days ago and have already entered into force for all purposes, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice announced.
The Ministry of Morals, formally called the Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and the Spread of Virtue, has already implemented similar moral requirements and says it has arrested thousands of people for violating them. It is not clear whether the publication of the rules will lead to further tightening. However, the Taliban’s restrictions on women and freedom of expression since returning to power in Afghanistan in the summer of 2021 have already attracted much (and harsh) criticism from human rights groups and numerous foreign governments. “Day after day they are trying to eliminate women from society,” she told Reuters Halema, a 37-year-old housewife from Kabul, said: “The silence of the international community on the Taliban’s decisions encourages them to impose new laws and restrictions every day.”
Western foreign ministries, led by Washington, have said the path to formal recognition of Koranic students will be blocked until they reverse course on women’s rights and open secondary schools to girls, who are currently excluded. The Taliban, on the other hand, have responded by saying they respect the rights of the pink universe, albeit declined according to the “interpretation” of Islamic law and local customs, and that these are internal issues to be addressed at the local level.
The 35-article morality law was officially promulgated and published on August 21 after receiving approval from the supreme spiritual leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, said Justice Ministry spokesman Barakatullah Rasoli. “According to this law, the Ministry (for the prevention of vice and the propagation of virtue) is obliged to promote good and prohibit evil in accordance with Islamic sharia.” Among the requirements are the obligation for women to wear clothing that completely covers the body and face, and men are prohibited from shaving their beards and from breaking religious prayers and fasts.
Penalties for violations include “counseling, warnings of divine punishment, verbal threats, confiscation of property, detention from one hour to three days in public jails, and any other penalty deemed appropriate.” If these measures fail to correct the behavior, new sanctions are established. “Many of these rules were already in place, but in a less formal way, and have now been made official. I think this is yet another example of what we have seen over the last three years, which is a steady and gradual escalation of repression,” said Heather Barr, associate director of the Women’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch (HRW).
The laws also prohibit car drivers, starting with taxis, from transporting women without a male guardian, as well as a special section dedicated to media and information, which is also subject to sharia law. Publishing images of living beings is also prohibited. This week the Ministry of Morals said it had detained more than 13,000 people in the past year, without specifying the (alleged) crimes committed or the sex of the people, about half of whom were held for 24 hours. The Taliban suspended Afghanistan’s previous constitution when they took power in 2021, following the withdrawal of foreign forces, and declared that they would govern the country according to sharia law. The Ministry of Justice explained that this week’s morality laws are the seventh set of codified rules, along with others on property, financial services and the prevention of vagrancy.
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