Taliban's new diktat for women: No singing, reciting or reading aloud in public to 'avoid temptation'

Afghanistan’s Taliban regime ordered a new diktat for women in the country. The latest crackdown is now on the sound of women’s voices in public as it is considered “intimate” under a strict new set of vice and virtue laws under the Islamist regime.

The latest dictatorial laws on Afghan women were issued Wednesday after they were approved by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhunzada, as per a government spokesperson. 

As per the new rules, Article 13 is related to women and says it is mandatory for a woman to veil her body at all times in public and that a face covering is essential to “avoid temptation and tempting others.” Additionally, the clothing with the veil should not be thin, tight or short. 

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

Formal declaration of 'vice' and 'virtue' laws by Taliban

The formal 114-page document consisting of vice and virtue laws has been seen by the Associated Press and forms the first declaration of such rules in Afghanistan since the Taliban came into power in 2021. The Taliban regime also set up a ministry for the “propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice.”

The laws will empower the ministry to be at the forefront of regulating personal conduct, administering punishments like warnings or arrests if enforcers allege that Afghans have broken the laws.

Women and girls are already prohibited from several things including going to school under the Taliban regime. These new laws will further intimidate Afghan women to fight for basic rights.

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As per the new law, a woman’s voice is deemed intimate and so should not be heard singing, reciting, or reading aloud in public. The laws also forbid women to look at men they are not related to by blood or marriage and vice versa. 

Women are also obliged to cover themselves in front of non-Muslim males and females to avoid being “corrupted.”

The laws also ban the playing of music, transportation of solo female travellers, and mixing of men and women who are not related to each other by blood or by marriage. The laws also oblige passengers and drivers to perform prayers five times a day.

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Last month, a U.N. report said the new Afghan ministry was contributing to a climate of fear and intimidation among Afghans through edicts and the methods used to enforce them.

“Given the multiple issues outlined in the report, the position expressed by the de facto authorities that this oversight will be increasing and expanding gives cause for significant concern for all Afghans, especially women and girls,” said Fiona Frazer, the head of the human rights service at the U.N. mission in Afghanistan.

(With inputs from agencies)