Afghanistan: Women are only allowed to ride in the car with a hijab

Enlarge image

Women with burqa on a car in Kandahar

Photo: JAVED TANVEER / AFP

The Taliban continue to curtail women's rights in Afghanistan. According to a new announcement by the Islamist rulers, women are only allowed to travel long distances if they are accompanied by a close male relative. All vehicle owners are also asked to only transport women who wear a hijab. How exactly this should look like is not apparent from the arrangement. As a rule, the Taliban understand this not just to mean covering the hair and neck, but rather a cloak from head to toe

"Women who travel more than 72 kilometers should not be taken unless they are accompanied by a close family member," said a spokesman for the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.

The ministry's new directive also urges people to stop listening to music in their vehicles.

The arrangement is a further step to drive women out of the public eye and make it difficult for them to lead an independent life.

A few weeks ago the ministry asked Afghan television stations to stop showing dramas and soap operas with actresses.

The Ministry had also asked television journalists to wear a hijab when they appear.

Since the Taliban came to power in mid-August, the situation in the country has deteriorated drastically, and not just for women.

In many cases women can no longer go back to their jobs.

Most girls' secondary schools are closed.

Street protests by activists were violently suppressed.

So far, no country has officially recognized the Taliban leadership.

This continues to work to consolidate its power.

Two election commissions have now been dissolved.

You should oversee presidential, parliamentary and regional elections.

A Taliban spokesman said the two bodies were unnecessary in Afghanistan's current situation.

If necessary, they could be resuscitated.

The ministries for peace and parliamentary affairs should also no longer exist in the future.

The ministries are unnecessary in the current government structure of Afghanistan, said the spokesman.

The Taliban had previously closed the Ministry of Women.

ulz / AFP / AP / dpa