In a new move to systematically reduce women’s rights in Afghanistan, Taliban authorities on Sunday instructed the taxi drivers to not offer transport to women, travelling more than 72 kilometers, unless they are chaperoned by a close male relative
The guidance issued by Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice also advised taxi drivers against taking fares from women who do not follow a strict Islamic dress code by wearing the hijab, according to Deutsche Welle (DW)
As per DW report, Ministry spokesman Mohammad Sadiq Akif confirmed the authenticity of the advisory, which was issued in a pamphlet. The media report said that the ministry has also urges drivers, presumably male, to grow long beards and break for prayer.
In addition, the pamphlet says they should refrain from playing music, which the Taliban deem to be un-Islamic, in their vehicles.
The guidance comes weeks after Taliban authorities asked Afghan television channels to stop the telecast of dramas and soap operas featuring women actors. The ministry had previously also called on women TV journalists to wear hijabs while presenting
Protests by women are being ruthlessly suppressed as well. The disappearance of women’s rights activist 29-year-old Forouzan Safi, a civil rights advocate and an economics lecturer in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif, whose body was later found riddled with bullets last month have shaken up activists. This appears to be the first known death of a women’s rights defender since the Taliban swept to power almost three months ago, said an international news report.
With this alleged assassination, the Taliban has succeeded in creating fear and horror among families to stop their women, girls, daughters and wives from protesting. The Taliban, activists believe, hates educated young minds, especially if these voices are female.
