Christian women in Afghanistan are now facing ‘double persecution,’ according to an evangelical mission agency, as draconian new Taliban restrictions take force.
All women have been banned from speaking or showing their faces in public in the Taliban’s latest infringement on women’s rights since reclaiming power in 2021.
The measures come under the regime’s new ‘vice and virtue’ laws, with the promotion of virtue and prevention of potential temptation of men cited as the reason for the crackdown.
The new rules state that men must now cover themselves between their navels and knees, while women must cover their whole bodies, including their faces, in thick clothes and cannot speak, read or sing outside their homes. Additionally, women are now prohibited from looking directly at men they are not related to.
Women or girls who do not obey these new laws could be punished in whatever way the Taliban deem appropriate.
The new measures come as the latest restrictions on women as part of the Taliban’s interpretation of Islamic Sharia Law. Existing laws already ban women from education beyond sixth grade, and from public spaces including salons, gyms and public parks.
Ben Cohen of Open Doors UK and Ireland said: ‘This is another deeply saddening blow for the women of Afghanistan and part of a downward spiral for women’s rights in the country. Since the Taliban regained full power in 2021, girls’ school attendance has been restricted and women have been barred from the workplace. For the small number of Afghan women who come to faith in Christ, there is no way you can tell anyone about it. Otherwise, they face physical abuse, house arrest, forced marriage and rape. Christian women are doubly persecuted.’
