Afghanistan’s Taliban has codified morality rules this week. The rules are in line with Islamic Sharia law and are to be enforced by the morality ministry. They are based on an order by the Taliban spiritual leader in 2022 and are now officially published as law, the Justice Ministry said.
The rules require women to cover their faces and men to grow beards. Car drivers are banned from playing music. The morality ministry is formally called the Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and Propagation of Virtue. This ministry has already been enforcing such rules and detailing thousands of people for violations.
These restrictions on freedom of expression and women have drawn sharp criticism from several right groups and foreign governments.
Washington said that the path to formal recognition of the Taliban is stalled until they reverse their course on women’s rights.
Taliban, on the other hand has said that they respect women’s rights as per the Islamic law. It also said that this is an internal matter for Afghanistan and should be addressed locally.
The 35-article morality law was officially enacted and published on Wednesday. This was done after being ratified by Supreme Spiritual Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, said Justice Ministry spokesperson Barakatullah Rasoli.
“According to this law, the Ministry is obligated to promote good and forbid evil in accordance with Islamic Sharia,” the Justice Ministry said.
The requirements say that women must wear attire that fully covers their bodies and faces. It also bars men from skipping prayer and religious fasts.
Divine Punishment
Advice, warnings of divine punishment, threats, confiscation of property and detention are the penalties of violation. It may also include any other punishment deemed appropriate, the Justice Ministry added.
If such measures failed to correct an individual’s behaviour they would be referred to court for further action, it said.
“A lot of these rules were in place already but less formally and now they are being formalised,” said Heather Barr. She is the Associate Director of Human Rights Watch’s Women’s Rights Division. She also said that this is a sign of a steady and gradual escalation of the crackdown.
The laws also instruct drivers of vehicles not to transport women without a male guardian. They require the media to abide by sharia law and ban the publication of images containing living beings.
Morality ministry officials have been monitoring Afghans throughout the country for alleged offences for the past three years. The ministry said this week that in the past year it had detained over 13,000 people. It said around half of the detentions were for 24 hours.
The Taliban suspended Afghanistan’s previous constitution when they took over in 2021 as foreign forces withdrew. They said that they would rule the country according to sharia law.
