Afghanistan

Women in Afghanistan are barred from speaking, laughing and reciting the Koran in public, nor from looking at men beyond their family members, under new Taliban laws that came into force in mid-September.

A fist-sized beard – Laws for men in Afghanistan too

The new, stricter legislation he did not leave men unscathed either. Among other things, it requires them to have beards of a certain length – at least as long as a fist. It should be noted that salary withholding has already started in a government service because the employee’s beard was not long enough.

Shock in Kabul – What draconian measures foresee

The new draconian measures have caused a shock in Kabul, the retired lieutenant general tells Vima. Konstantinos Kolokouriswho served in Afghanistan as the commander of the Greek force, for a total of 11 months in 2004 and 2008.I contacted my friend, Tahir, in Afghanistan and he told me verbatim “we are trembling for our children, our wives and ourselves. We tremble at the idea that someone will falsely accuse us of not applying the new law”. They tremble because they will not be judged in a court of law. A mufti makes his own decisions. Since 2021, when the Taliban returned to power, 15,000 people have been jailed for not implementing Islamic law.».

The 35 articles of the new bill, which was based on a 2022 decree by the Taliban’s supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzadathey control every aspect of Afghans’ social and private lives, following a particularly strict version of sharia. Penalties for breaking these rules start from “recommendations, warnings of holy punishment, verbal threats» and they arrive as “confiscation of property, detention from one hour to three days and any other punishment deemed appropriate“, the Afghan Ministry of Justice clarified.

The Taliban’s morality police, an extension of the regime’s more conservative elements, have been given superpowers in the capital, Kabul, where they were rarely seen until now. He roams bus stops and malls, looking for dress code violations and women who might laugh or raise their voices. They are now even knocking on doors in some parts of Kabul because the male owner of the house has noted an absence from the mosque.

“Women are suffocated, men are threatened”

The prevailing terrorism is conveyed to us by the president of the Afghan Community in Greece, Taher Alizadehhaving contacted relatives in his hometown. “Women suffocate. They cannot do anything unless a male relative accompanies them. They are limited. While men are also threatened. They have already arrested people. The new condition in which the Afghans must live cannot be described“, he comments.

«There is now terror in the country“, adds Mr. Kolokouris«and this will not change in the coming decades, as the strategic interest of the US and the international community has shifted to China. Nobody cares about Afghanistan anymore».

Afghan women rose up, Afghan men were caught sleeping

There have been protests from Afghan women over the new law, while men have been caught completely asleep as they did not think they would be targeted by the hard-line faction of the Taliban, which appears to have prevailed over the more moderate. According to her Washington PostAfghans regret not reacting sooner. “If men had raised their voices, we might be in a different situation today“, a resident of Kabul tells the newspaper.

Most Afghans now hide their jeans, grow beards and carry prayer rugs. “These first serious restrictions on men came as a surprise to many in Afghanistan, according to a range of Afghans who include Taliban opponents, wavering supporters and even members of the Taliban regime.“, adds American newspaper.

The Taliban’s new rules for men do not compare, however, to those against women, who are barred from school after the 6th grade. And this in a country that gave women the right to vote in 1919 (while Greece in 1952).

Although the UN also expressed concern about the new law’s restrictions on religious freedom and freedom of the press, prohibiting the media from publishing “content hostile to sharia and religion” or “photos showing living things“, h silence of the international community in the face of the actions of the Taliban it encourages them to create new laws and restrictions every day, as Afghans complain.

The new restrictions appear to reflect a broader shift in the balance of power within the Taliban, with more conservative elements either gaining increasing influence or seeking to assert themselves more aggressively in urban areas, according to Western officials and Afghan critics of the Taliban.

THE global Women’s Peace and Security Index (WPS Index), of the Georgetown University Institute of the same name in Washington, which examines the position of women in 177 countries, ranks Afghanistan last, 177th (Greece 51st).