The de facto government of Afghanistan ratified a law for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice that makes it compulsory for women to wear a veil to cover their faces and condemns the public use of a woman’s voice as an offence against modesty, implementing the strictest interpretation of Islamic law.
According to the criteria of
The law relating to the Ministry of Virtue and Vice, The move was ratified on Thursday evening by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, as the de facto Taliban regime is called, official Taliban sources confirmed to EFE on Friday.
The 35-article law, which Efe has been able to read, contains four chapters addressing issues such as the full veil or hijab for women, men’s clothing, and media regulations.
What does the law say and what are the prohibitions it orders?
“According to this law, the Ministry – for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice – is obliged to enjoin good and forbid evil (…) and is also responsible for peace and brotherhood among people,” said the spokesman for the Ministry of Justice, Barkatullah Rasooli, in a statement published today by the Afghan channel Tolo News.
The feared ministry will also have to “prevent people from engaging in ethnic, linguistic and regional prejudices,” he added.
In the article referred to Regarding the hijab, the law stipulates that women must cover their face and body to avoid “causing temptation,” and to avoid public noise or the raised voices of women, including singing, reciting, or speaking into microphones.
It also prohibits drivers from transporting adult women without a legal male guardian.
“Implementation of sharia and hijab is our red line. We cannot negotiate with anyone on these issues,” Minister of Virtue and Vice Mohammad Khalid Hanafi said in a meeting with officials, according to Tolo.
For men, Article 22 prohibits or condemns wearing a tie, shaving or trimming the beard below the length of a fist, or combing one’s hair, as violations of Islamic law.
The law also contains general provisions on the media and their obligation to comply with sharia law, and a ban on “humiliating or insulting Muslims” and including images of living beings.
According to the Taliban, the law is in accordance with Islamic and Hanafi sharia, one of the four main schools of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence.
Although for some analysts, the Taliban do not follow a specific legal school, Their interpretations and application of Islamic law are largely based on Hanafi, their approach is more strict and fundamentalist.
Although many of the prohibitions relating to women or clothing have been implemented in the country since the Taliban returned to power exactly three years ago, this law provides uniformity and rigor in punishment to enforce compliance.
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