Taliban Decrees on Clothing & Male Guardians Leave Afghan Women Scared to Go Out Alone, UN Says

February 17, 2024 – ASSOCIATED PRESS

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Afghan women feel scared or unsafe leaving their homes alone because of Taliban decrees and enforcement campaigns on clothing and male guardians, according to a report from the United Nations mission in Afghanistan.

The report, issued Friday, comes days before a U.N.-convened meeting in the Qatari capital is set to start, with member states and special envoys to Afghanistan due to discuss engagement with the Taliban and the country’s crises, including the human rights situation.

The Taliban — which took over Afghanistan in 2021 during the final weeks of U.S. and NATO withdrawal from the country — have barred women from most areas of public life and stopped girls from going to school beyond the sixth grade as part of harsh measures they imposed despite initial promises of a more moderate rule.

They are also restricting women’s access to work, travel and healthcare if they are unmarried or don’t have a male guardian, and arresting those who don’t comply with the Taliban’s interpretation of hijab, or Islamic head scarf.

The U.N. mission’s report said the decrees are being enforced through arrest, harassment and intimidation. Women said they increasingly fear going to public spaces owing to the threat of arrest and the “long-lasting stigma and shame” associated with being taken into police custody.

A spokesman from the Vice and Virtue Ministry, the Taliban’s morality police that enforces such decrees, said it was “nonsense and untrue” that women are scared to go to the shops.

“There is no problem for those sisters [women] who have observed hijab,” said Abdul Ghafar Farooq. “As women are naturally weaker than men, then Shariah [Islamic law] has called mahrams essential when traveling with them for the sake of their dignity and respect.”

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UNAMA – United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan – https://unama.unmissions.org/unama-deeply-concerned-over-detentions-afghan-women-and-girls-0

UNAMA DEEPLY CONCERNED OVER DETENTIONS OF AFGHAN WOMEN AND GIRLS

11 January 2024 – KABUL –  The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) is deeply concerned over recent arbitrary arrests and detentions of women and girls by Afghanistan’s de facto authorities because of alleged non-compliance with the Islamic dress code.

Since 1 January, in Kabul and Daykundi provinces, UNAMA has documented a series of hijab decree enforcement campaigns by the de facto Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice and the de facto police.

In the capital Kabul, large numbers of women and girls have been warned and detained. In Nili City of Daykundi province, women and girls have also been detained.

UNAMA is looking into allegations of ill-treatment and incommunicado detention, and that religious and ethnic minority communities appear to be disproportionately impacted by the enforcement operations.

To secure release, a mahram, or male guardian, has been required to sign a letter guaranteeing future compliance or else face punishment. UNAMA is also looking into allegations that payments have been demanded in exchange for release.

“Enforcement measures involving physical violence are especially demeaning and dangerous for Afghan women and girls,” said Roza Otunbayeva, Special Representative of the Secretary General and head of UNAMA.

“Detentions carry an enormous stigma that put Afghan women at even greater risk. They also destroy public trust,” Ms. Otunbayeva said.

UNAMA fears the current crackdown is pushing women into even greater isolation due to fear of arbitrary arrest, and creating a permissive environment for men to enforce repressive measures at home.

UNAMA has discussed these issues with the de facto authorities, including the de facto Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, and calls for the immediate release of those detained.

UNAMA reiterates to the de facto authorities that Afghanistan as a state remains party to seven key international human rights instruments. United Nations Security Council Resolution 2681 (2023) also called on the Taliban to swiftly reverse the policies and practices that restrict the enjoyment by women and girls of their human rights and fundamental freedoms.

WUNRN

Afghan women scared due to Taliban decrees, U.N. says – Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)

Direct Link to Full 24-Page UNAMA Report: the_handling_of_complaints_of_gbvawg_english_141223.pdf (unmissions.org)