The Taliban have formally codified a comprehensive set of morality laws in Afghanistan, mandating strict regulations on personal appearance and behavior, Reuters reported. The new rules, which include requirements for women to cover their faces and for men to maintain beards, were officially enacted last week.
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The codification follows a 2022 decree by the Taliban's supreme spiritual leader and marks the formal publication of these regulations as law. The Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and Propagation of Virtue, which has been enforcing similar rules informally, is tasked with upholding these new laws, the Justice Ministry spokesperson confirmed.
Under the 35-article morality law, women are required to wear attire that fully covers their bodies and faces. Men are prohibited from shaving their beards and must adhere to religious practices, including prayer and fasting. The laws also ban playing music in cars, restrict the transportation of women without male guardians, and prohibit media from publishing images containing living beings.
Penalties for violations range from verbal warnings and advice to detention for one hour to three days, with more severe cases referred to court. The Justice Ministry has stated that the enforcement of these laws aims to promote good and forbid evil in line with their interpretation of Islamic Sharia.
The Taliban's enforcement of such restrictions, especially on women, has faced sharp criticism from international human rights groups and foreign governments. Rights advocates argue that these laws further erode women's presence in society and exacerbate human rights abuses in Afghanistan.
Western nations, including the United States, have indicated that the path to formally recognizing the Taliban's government remains obstructed by their stance on women's rights and restrictions on girls' education. The Taliban maintain that their policies are in line with their interpretation of Islamic law and local customs.
Heather Barr from Human Rights Watch described the formalization of these laws as a continuation of the Taliban's increasing crackdown on personal freedoms. The morality ministry has reported detaining over 13,000 people for alleged offenses over the past year, with about half of these detentions lasting 24 hours.
The latest morality laws are the seventh set of codified regulations issued since the Taliban's return to power in 2021. Previous sets have covered areas such as property, financial services, and the prevention of begging.
Earlier, the Taliban imposed a series of strict regulations governing both public and private life. The new rules include prohibitions on women looking at men, speaking loudly in public or at home, and singing or reading aloud.
These restrictions are primarily aimed at controlling women's behavior and appearance, such as banning loud speaking within homes to avoid their voices being heard outside, and mandating that women’s clothing must not be thin, tight, or short.
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