In its most recent crackdown on gender rights, the Taliban has banned women from boarding flights unless they are accompanied by a mahram, or male relative. Brought into effect on Monday, the directive was issued after Thursday’s meeting between Taliban officials, representatives from Ariana Afghan Airlines and Kam Air, and airport immigration officials.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity to AFP, the representatives cited a letter from the Taliban which ordered the airlines to bar women who are travelling alone from boarding domestic or international flights. However, the Ministry for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, which usually orders such restrictions, said that no such directive had been issued.
The Taliban have ordered airlines in Afghanistan to stop women from flying unless accompanied by a male relative, in the latest crackdown on basic human rights by the country's new rulers https://t.co/HI9VCEO8Qx
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 28, 2022
📸 A poster at Kabul airport orders women to cover themselves pic.twitter.com/xkePJypjRY
Nevertheless, even before the decision came into effect, several reports suggested that women had already been restricted from flying alone. Two travel agents in Afghanistan confirmed that they would no longer provide tickets to solo female travellers. A passenger told AFP: “Some women who were travelling without a male relative were not allowed to board a Kam Air flight from Kabul to Islamabad on Friday.” Similarly, an Afghan American woman was also stopped from boarding a flight to Dubai the same day.
Furthermore, the Taliban’s Vice Ministry also issued a directive banning women from visiting parks in Kabul on the same days as men. Consequently, women will only be allowed to visit the facilities on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays. Mohammad Yahya Aref, an official from the Ministry, said, “It is not the Islamic Emirate’s order, but our God’s order that men and women who are strangers to each other should not gather at one place.”
The Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice on Sunday announced a gender-segregated weekly timetable for Kabul parks. Women may visit parks on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, and
— TOLOnews (@TOLOnews) March 27, 2022
men can visit the parks on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.#TOLOnews pic.twitter.com/IAAWnJEaIr
Despite several assurances of its commitment to gender rights and freedoms, the Taliban have introduced several such crackdowns since their takeover in August. For instance, women have already been barred from inter-city travel by road and have also been forced out of their jobs in government offices.
The recent curbs on women’s freedom closely follows the Taliban’s decision last Wednesday to disallow girls from attending high school, days after promising the opposite. Hundreds of girls returned to schools across Afghanistan after a seven-month hiatus but were then told to go home. No formal justification has been given for the reversal, beyond officials saying that there are technical issues regarding the standardisation of uniforms.
Additionally, on Monday, the Taliban forbade the entry of beardless employees into government offices. However, the Vice Ministry denied these reports.
Nevertheless, according to witnesses quoted by The Khaama Press, Vice Ministry officials were stationed at office gates to enforce the rule. Reports also suggested that the Taliban has instructed hairdressers against trimming and shaving beards. The Taliban is seeking to ensure that the appearances of those who remain in government offices are in strict accordance with Sharia law.
These are the employees of the foreign ministry of Afghanistan who were barred today by the Taliban for not having long beards and hats. pic.twitter.com/U4V6Olpl85
— Tajuden Soroush (@TajudenSoroush) March 28, 2022
Furthermore, in a blow to media rights and freedoms, the Taliban ordered the closure of the BBC’s broadcast operations in Afghanistan; the BBC has over six million consumers in the country. Tarik Kafala, the head of languages at BBC World Services, said, “ The BBC’s TV news bulletins in Pashto, Persian, and Uzbek have been taken off-air in Afghanistan after the Taliban ordered our TV partners to remove international broadcasters from the airwaves.”
Likewise, Voice of America’s (VOA) programmes have also been taken off-air. Condemning the decision, the network’s director, Yolanda Lopez, said, “We ask the Taliban to reconsider this troubling and unfortunate decision… The content restrictions that the Taliban are attempting to impose are unethical to freedom of expression that the people of Afghanistan deserve.” Apart from VOA and BBC, other targeted international broadcasters include Deutsche Welle and CGTN.
In response, Inamullah Samangani, a spokesperson of the Taliban administration, said, “Since the foreign TV channels are broadcast from abroad, the Islamic Emirate has no access to control their contents.”
The BBC, VOA, and CGTN are all state-owned, by the United Kingdom, the United States, and China, respectively.
Interestingly, the decision to target Chinese state-owned outlet CGTN comes just days after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Kabul, wherein he vowed to respect the: independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan; the independent choices made by the Afghan people; and the religious beliefs and national customs of Afghanistan. China has yet to comment on the latest developments.
Concerningly, Reporters Without Borders also reported in December that several journalists in Afghanistan had been detained and attacked by the Taliban’s security forces for their critical views of the new government.
Furthermore, the Taliban has already mandated all female journalists to wear hijabs. In a similar vein, foreign televised drama shows have also been banned.
The last time when the Taliban was in power in Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, they adopted a strict regime guided by an extremist understanding of Islam. Upon coming into power after ousting the Ghani government following the withdrawal of American forces last year, the Taliban vowed to impose a softer version of its previous regime in exchange for international recognition of its government. However, in light of the spate of recent crackdowns, the process of the international community formally recognising the Taliban government is likely to be delayed or shelved entirely.