09/01/2025
Irish public service broadcasting station RTE Radio 1 reports that the already insanely fundamentalist Taliban regime in Afghanistan has passed a new set of diktats which enforce yet more oppression on women in particular, but which have ramifications for everyone in the society. Article 13 says it is mandatory for a woman to cover her body at all times in public and that a face covering is essential to avoid temptation and tempting others. Clothing should not be thin, tight or short. Muslim women are obliged to cover themselves in front of non-Muslim males and females to avoid being corrupted. A woman's voice is deemed intimate and so should not be heard singing, reciting poetry, or reading aloud in public. It is also forbidden for women to look at men they are not related to by blood or marriage and vice versa. Article 17 bans the publication of images of living beings, which threatens an already fragile Afghan media landscape. Article 19 bans the playing of music, the transportation of solo female travellers, and the mixing of men and women who are not related to each other. The law also obliges passengers and drivers to perform prayers at designated times.
