Taliban crack down on social liberties with strict policing

“Dear Muslim brothers and sisters, it is the duty of every Muslim to enforce hijab and Sharia law,” he shouted, referring to Muslim clothing for women.

“You, girl, fix your head scarf. Your hair is showing,” another religious policeman reprimanded a woman during another patrol. “Who are you showing off?”

The Taliban have imposed harsh social sanctions in recent weeks that specifically curtail women’s freedoms, even as the group seeks international recognition after toppling the Western-backed republic in August.

Most notably, the Taliban last week decided to uphold the ban on secondary and schools for girls. He also banned live music at weddings and barred international media outlets such as British Broadcasting Corp and Voice of America from broadcasting in local languages.

Women must be accompanied by a male relative when traveling beyond 48 miles. In some parts of Afghanistan, women are required to be accompanied by a male guardian to receive medical treatment.

When the Taliban took power in August, they sought to project a softer image than their first time in power, promising for example to respect women’s rights within the framework of Islam. Since then, the Taliban has hardened its position on a number of issues, a reflection that ultra-conservative members of the group dominate the moderates, at least on social policies. While the Taliban collectively adhere to a rigid interpretation of Sunni Islam, there is disagreement within the group over how strictly to enforce rules such as gender segregation.

More pragmatic members of the Taliban are concerned that allowing religious policemen to aggressively enforce social rules could alienate populations and prolong their international isolation. Thoughts within the Taliban—including the movement’s supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada—appear less concerned about a possible backlash.

In recent weeks, uniformed members of the Taliban’s Religious Ethics Police, a much sought-after organization during the group’s rule in the 1990s—a well-known organization during the group’s rule in the 1990s—have been deployed by Which are becoming more visible on the streets of the capital. ,

Police efforts were intensified ahead of Ramzan starting on Saturday. On a recent day in Kabul, religious police instructed taxi drivers not to play music inside vehicles or pick up intoxicated passengers or women they had improperly covered up.

On Friday, Taliban members hung banners in central Kabul that read: “My sister! Your hijab speaks louder than my blood.”

“Women should have better hijabs for Ramadan,” said Abdullah Omari, an ethics police chief who oversees seven central provinces.

“Hijab” is a catchy term that for many Muslims refers to a head scarf, which all Afghan women already wear in public. But the term can refer more broadly to female clothing that covers parts or the whole body in accordance with Sharia law. , The Taliban, Mr Omari said, would implement this broader approach, adding that the hijab is a religious code that mandates women to cover their entire bodies in loose-fitting clothing that ideally also obscures the face. , as do burqas.

For some women who still have active roles in society, the pressure to follow the Taliban’s restrictive rules is unbearable. At Indira Gandhi’s Children’s Hospital in Kabul, a government letter was pasted on the notice board, instructing female employees to wear Islamic clothing without detail. Some women health workers there said that they found the order disrespectful.

“If we don’t wear the proper hijab, we can be fired,” said a female doctor. She was wearing a tightly draped scarf, a long dress over a pair of pants, and a lab coat. “But I don’t know what that means. What kind of hijab do they want? We can’t work in a burqa,” she said, tears rolling down her face.

Last week the Taliban said men and women should use Kabul’s parks, popular sites for family picnics, on alternate days. From the first day of Ramadan, the Taliban enforced similar segregation at amusement parks, making this past Friday the last day that parents could jointly take their children for carousel rides.

“I feel like, starting tomorrow, I’ll be in jail,” said Cedarah Afzali, a 20-year-old high-school graduate wearing a tooth gem and a nose stud, nail polish and a bright orange head scarf. He has barely seen his girlfriends since the Taliban takeover because his family barred him from roaming the city alone for her safety.

“I begged my brothers to take us here today,” she said, pointing to her two sisters, 23-year-old Neda and 17-year-old Naji, who were with her in the park. The Taliban takeover ended the 20-year war, Ms. Afzali said, but she prioritized life under the former republic: “Then, the security was not good, but we could enjoy life. We had freedom.” “

The Taliban say they are only advising Afghans on how to behave and have yet to restore the widespread corporal punishment that ruled the country in the 1990s. But fear of the group’s past leads many Afghans to self-censor and prompt parents to do all they can to keep their children safe.

At a coffee shop in central Kabul, where she and two girlfriends were drinking energy drinks and smoking cigarettes, Fatima Hashmi, 25, said her family tried to stop her from roaming the city.

Ms. Hashmi, a former journalist, said of the coffee shop, “It’s the only place where we can get a little bit of freedom. Her friend dumped a cigarette on the floor. Enjoy the moment together.”

Until recently, men and women were allowed to mingle in cafes. Now, the women have been led to a corner behind a bamboo curtain. The music is turned off, with the subscriber’s iPhone providing the only soundtrack to the pop song. When Taliban morality enforcers enter the coffee shop, an alarm is sounded on the upper floors to give female patrons a chance to fix scarves on their heads or put out cigarettes.

Men also feel restrictions. Male government employees say the Taliban throw them out of office if they do not grow long beards, while female employees have been asked not to wear make-up.

Bitcoin trader Basset Zevari, 23, dressed in blue jeans and a red polo T-shirt, said the Taliban want men to wear traditional Afghan clothing – a long tunic and baggy trousers.

“My father told me today, ‘Be careful when you go out in those jeans,'” said Mr. Jevari.

According to official guidelines from the Ministry of Higher Education, seen by The Wall Street Journal, while women are allowed to study at the university, male and female students must be taught in separate shifts or separated by division. Female students should sit five minutes before male students in the class and leave after five minutes, to ensure that they do not cross paths.

The restrictions are also a blow to local businesses already grappling with a crushing economic crisis. Following the Taliban takeover, foreign countries, including the US, imposed economic sanctions, halted foreign trade, suspended aid to the Afghan government, and froze its foreign reserves.

“These parks depend on families and children. The new restrictions will prevent most of our customers from coming here,” said the manager of an amusement park in Kabul.

“All other Islamic countries have amusement parks,” he said. “Islam tells you to laugh and have fun. We have never allowed anyone here to behave in an un-Islamic way.”

Saeed Jelani, a member of the Taliban’s police force who visited the amusement park on their holiday, said fun is not forbidden in Islam, as long as women wear clothes that reveal only their eyes.

“This is our Islamic rule and tradition: women should stay indoors,” said Mr. Jelani, as families met around him eating ice cream, with the last time being an hour before the park closed. .

“When men and women are close together, it leads to adultery and prostitution,” he said.