A new sign of the hardening of the regime. The Taliban announced this Sunday, December 27 that women wishing to travel long distances must be accompanied by a man from their close family.
The recommendation, published by the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice and which circulated on social networks, also calls on drivers to accept women in their vehicle only if they wear the “Islamic veil. “.
“Women traveling more than 45 miles (72 kilometers) cannot make the trip if they are not accompanied by a close family member,” ministry spokesman Sadeq Akif Muhajir told AFP. specifying that the accompanying person had to be a man.
Many restrictions imposed on women
This directive comes a few weeks after the ministry’s request to Afghan televisions to stop broadcasting “soap operas and series in which women” play, and to ensure that women journalists wear “the Islamic veil” on the screen.
The Taliban do not specify what they mean by “Islamic veil, whether it is a simple headscarf, already worn by the majority of Afghan women, or a more covering veil.
Since coming to power in August, they have imposed various restrictions on women and girls, despite initial promises that their regime would be less strict than during their first reign (1996-2001). In several provinces, local authorities have agreed to reopen schools for girls, although many of them across the country still cannot attend.
