International

New Taliban laws ban women’s voices and bare faces in public

by Filip Timotija 08/22/24 10:44 PM ET

FILE - A Taliban fighter stands guard as women wait to receive food rations distributed by a humanitarian aid group, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on May 23, 2023. A U.N. report says the Taliban are restricting Afghan women's access to work, travel and healthcare if they are unmarried or don't have a male guardian, a mahram. The Taliban have banned women from education, most jobs and public spaces like parks since seizing control of Afghanistan in 2021. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)

New Taliban laws in Afghanistan would ban women’s voices and bare faces in public, according to a 114-page, 35-article document seen by The Associated Press.

The laws were issued Wednesday by the militant and political group and were approved by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.

“Inshallah we assure you that this Islamic law will be of great help in the promotion of virtue and the elimination of vice,” ministry spokesperson Maulvi Abdul Ghafar Farooq said Thursday, according to AP.

The Taliban came back to power in the country following the U.S. withdrawal of armed forces in 2021.

The laws encompass directions on celebrations, music, transportation and shaving. Article 13 directs women to cover their faces in public and to not wear short or tight clothing, according to AP.

Article 13 also bans women from looking at men if they are not related by marriage or blood. They are not allowed to sing or read out loud.

The introduction of new laws follows a July United Nations report that accused the ministry of intimidation and violating human rights. The ministry rejected the claims made in the report.