Afghanistan: Criticism Of The Taliban's Recent Decree On "Virtue And Vice" Directed At Women
According to OHCHR Chief Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani, “the Law on the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice” effectively tries to turn women into faceless, voiceless shadows by silencing their voices and robbing them of their autonomy.
“This is just not acceptable at all,” she emphasized.
“We demand that this legislation be immediately repealed by the de facto authorities, as it clearly violates Afghanistan’s obligations under international human rights law.”
Restrictive, ambiguous clauses
A long range of oppressive measures, such as requiring women to wear full body covers, prohibiting them from speaking in public, and placing additional limitations on their freedom of movement when they are not accompanied by a male relative, are included in the law that was passed last week.
It seems that even hearing a female voice outside the house is considered a moral transgression.
In addition, it forbids cars from playing music, mandates that men grow beards, and limits the publication of human photographs in the media. Agents of the state are empowered to hold people and administer sanctions.
Ms. Shamdasani stressed that the country’s humanitarian situation and human rights violations will only become worse if Afghan women and girls are disempowered and made invisible.
“Instead, this is an opportunity to unite all Afghans, regardless of gender, religion, or ethnicity, to assist in resolving the numerous issues the nation faces,” she said.
A “distressing vision” for what is ahead
The new law was criticized by Roza Otunbayeva, the senior UN envoy to Afghanistan, who called it a “distressing vision” for the future of her country.
“The Afghan people deserve much better than to be threatened or imprisoned if they happen to be late for prayers, glance at a member of the opposite sex who is not a family member, or possess a photo of a loved one,” she stated in a statement following decades of conflict and the ongoing awful humanitarian catastrophe.
Citizens, not disciplinable objects
The international community “had been seeking, in good faith,” to engage the Taliban in a constructive manner, Ms. Otunbayeva continued.
“The world wants to see Afghanistan on the path to prosperity and peace, where all Afghans are citizens with rights and not just objects to be subjugated, and have a stake in their future.”
She stressed that attaining that aim will be “even harder” if Afghans’ rights are increasingly restricted and they live in constant dread.
