Afghan women will no longer be allowed in parks, said a spokesperson for the Afghan morality ministry. Taliban citing in part that they were not living up to their interpretation of Islamic dress during their visits.
Mohammad Akif Muhajir, a spokesman for the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, made the comments in an interview with local media and, when asked about the restrictions, forwarded the audio of the interview to Reuters.
“For the last 14 or 15 months, we’ve tried to provide a Sharia (Islamic law) environment and our culture for women to go to parks,” he said.
“Unfortunately, the park owners did not cooperate very well with us, and also the women did not observe the hijab as suggested. For now, the decision has been made that they will be banned,” he said referring to the group’s interpretation of the Islamic dress code for women.
Almost all women in Afghanistan wear a headscarf, or hijab, in public. However, the Taliban said that women must wear long clothes that cover their bodies and also cover their faces, like the all-enveloping burqa. Some women in Kabul and other urban centers do not cover their faces in public and others wear a surgical mask.
Western governments have said the Taliban needs to reverse its course on women’s rights, including a U-turn on signs that they would open secondary schools for girls, for any path to formal recognition from the Taliban government.
It was unclear how long the park restrictions would last and whether they would be extended across Afghanistan.
Park operators in the western provinces of Herat and Balkh and Badkahshan said they had not yet been asked to deny entry to women.
Some women in those provinces told Reuters they were closely watching the restrictions in Kabul and feared they might apply in other provinces.
“Here they haven’t restricted women and girls yet, but you’ll never know when they change their minds,” said a woman in Badakhshan who asked to remain anonymous.
The Taliban say they respect women’s rights according to their interpretation of Islamic law.
Writing by Charlotte Greenfield; edited by John Stonestreet
Source: CNN Brasil
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