The Taliban regime in Afghanistan has passed new laws restricting women’s rights, including bans on speaking in public, showing their faces, and venturing outside without a male escort.
These “vice and virtue” laws, which require women to cover their faces and wear thick clothing, have been condemned by the United Nations and human rights groups for effectively silencing women and depriving them of autonomy.
Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, says the law “silences women’s voices and deprives them of their autonomy.”
“This is utterly intolerable,” Shamdasani stated. “We call on the de facto authorities to immediately repeal this legislation, which is in clear violation of Afghanistan’s obligations under international human rights law.”
Zabihullah Mujahid, the main spokesman for the Taliban, dismissed the objections, citing Islamic law as justification.
“We urge a thorough understanding of these laws and a respectful acknowledgment of Islamic values. To reject these laws without such understanding is, in our view, an expression of arrogance,” Mujahid said. “We must stress that the concerns raised by various parties will not sway the Islamic Emirate from its commitment to upholding and enforcing Islamic law.”