Taliban leaders issue restrictive policies on women in Afghanistan

Taliban leaders in Afghanistan this week passed new restrictive policies against women, which include banning them from exposing their faces in public or wearing tight clothing.

The Taliban returned to power in the Middle Eastern country in 2021 as the United States withdrew its forces from Afghanistan, and installed a "propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice" ministry, which seeks to promote "virtue."

The new rules were approved by the country's supreme leader, and issued on Wednesday. 

“Inshallah we assure you that this Islamic law will be of great help in the promotion of virtue and the elimination of vice,” ministry spokesman Maulvi Abdul Ghafar Farooq said on Thursday, according to the Associated Press.

The 114-page, 35-article document, ordered women to veil their bodies at all times while in public, including wearing a face covering that would help avoid temptation. Women are also not allowed to recite, read aloud, or sing in public because a woman's voice is considered intimate.

Women are also not allowed to travel anywhere alone, and playing music is also banned under Article 19.  The article also instructs passengers and drivers to pray at certain designated times.

Another notable law is Article 17, which prohibits the media from publishing images of living things.

Those found in violation of the laws could be issued warnings or face imprisonment. 

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.