By 
02-09-2024
Anne-Marie Leal
Women’s Rights Researcher,
Global Human Rights Defence.
At the end of August 2024, a new “vice and virtue” law was enacted by the Taliban, under the approval of their supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada. This law prohibits women from singing, reciting poetry outdoors, wearing makeup, or using perfume under their veils. According to the Taliban, the stated purpose of this law is to “promote virtue and prevent vice,” as they believe that a woman’s voice could be a potential instrument of vice.
In response to these prohibitions, Afghan women have taken to defying the ban by singing as a form of protest, particularly through videos posted online. These videos are being shared by women both within Afghanistan and from the Afghan diaspora abroad, demonstrating widespread opposition to the restrictive measures.
These new regulations are part of a broader campaign by the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, which was established in 2021. Numerous restrictions have already been imposed in the country, including the mandatory wearing of the full veil and a ban on education for girls over the age of twelve. The Taliban continue to enforce increasingly strict interpretations of Sharia law, further curtailing the freedoms of Afghan women.
The United Nations has condemned the Taliban’s policies as “gender apartheid,” calling for the immediate repeal of these new measures. The UN’s Human Rights Office warned that such laws could render “half of Afghanistan’s population invisible and voiceless,” directly contradicting the Taliban’s previous assurances that they would respect women’s rights. In response, the European Union has taken various actions to protect Afghan women from these escalating restrictions. Earlier this year, the Court of Justice of the European Union recognised women as a socially vulnerable group, paving the way for more protective measures. Some countries, like France, have also acknowledged Afghan women as belonging to a social group eligible for refugee protection.
However, despite these international efforts, Afghan women remain at significant risk of persecution, and the situation continues to deteriorate under the Taliban’s oppressive regime.
Sources and Further Readings :
HugoDecripte (2024, August 31st, 2024), “Depuis leur arrivée au pouvoir par la force en 2021, les talibans ne cessent de restreindre les droits des femmes en Afghanistan”. Consulted on September 2nd. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/C_RDfYhNRfU/?hl=fr.
The Guardian (August 26th, 2024), “Frightening” Taliban law bans women from speaking in public. Consulted on September 2nd. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/aug/26/taliban-bar-on-afghan-women-speaking-in-public-un-afghanistan.
CJEU, Case C-621/21 (January 16th, 2024). Consulted on September 2nd. Retrieved from https://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&docid=281302&pageIndex=0&doclang=EN&mode=lst&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=3822889.
CNDA, Mme O. ( July 9th, 2024), application n° 24014128. Consulted on September 2nd. Retrieved from https://www.cnda.fr/decisions-de-justice/dernieres-decisions/la-cour-reconnait-l-appartenance-de-l-ensemble-des-femmes-afghanes-a-un-groupe-social-susceptible-d-etre-protege-comme-refugie2.
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