UN expresses concern on morality law, says "Distressing vision for Afghanistan's future"

Taliban authorities this week announced the ratification of a Law on the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, with 35 articles detailing restrictions on the Afghan population with arbitrary and severe enforcement mechanisms.

In a statement released on Sunday, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said, "UNAMA is concerned by the promulgation by Afghanistan's de facto authorities of a morality law which imposes wide-ranging and far-reaching restrictions on personal conduct and provides morality police with broad powers of enforcement."

"It is a distressing vision for Afghanistan's future, where moral inspectors have discretionary powers to threaten and detain anyone based on broad and sometimes vague lists of infractions," said Roza Otunbayeva, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of UNAMA.

Otunbayeva emphasized that the law imposes intolerable restrictions on the rights of Afghan women and girls. "It extends the already intolerable restrictions on the rights of Afghan women and girls, with even the sound of a female voice outside the home apparently deemed a moral violation," she said.

"After decades of war and in the midst of a terrible humanitarian crisis, the Afghan people deserve much better than being threatened or jailed if they happen to be late for prayers, glance at a member of the opposite sex who is not a family member, or possess a photo of a loved one," Otunbayeva added.

Notably, the Ministry for the "Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice," which was founded in 2021 following the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, released the legislation on Wednesday.

On Thursday, ministry spokesman Maulvi Abdul Ghafar Farooq stated, "Inshallah, we assure you that this Islamic law will be of great help in the promotion of virtue and the elimination of vice." The laws were endorsed by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada the previous day.

Article 13 of the document addresses women, detailing how they should dress and behave in public. Women are now required to cover their entire bodies, including their faces, in public to prevent temptation and avoid tempting others. As a result, the commonly worn hijab, which covers only the hair and neck without covering the face, is no longer deemed acceptable, Global News had reported.

Women are now prohibited from singing, reciting, or reading aloud in public, as a woman's voice is considered "intimate" and should not be heard. It is not clear whether speaking is also prohibited.

Additionally, the laws state that women are not allowed to look at men who are not related to them by blood or marriage, and vice versa. Violating these rules could lead to warnings, property confiscation, or detention for up to three days. The ministry has already been implementing similar morality standards and reports having detained thousands for breaches. (ANI)