Taliban bans women from ‘hearing other women’s voices’

The Taliban has banned women from hearing other womens voices in its latest attempt to restrict women in Afghanistan. In a voice message on Monday, October 28, the countrys minister for the promotion of virtue and prevention of vice announced the bizarre new restriction on womens behaviour.  Although precise details of the Talibans ruling are unclear, Afghan human rights activists have warned it could mean women are effectively banned from holding conversations with one another. In his message, minister Khalid Hanafi said: Even when an adult female prays and another female passes by, she must not pray loudly enough for them to hear. How could they be allowed to sing if they arent even permitted to hear [each others] voices while praying, let alone for anything else. He said these are new rules and will be gradually implemented, and God will be helping us in each step we take. As the Taliban has banned living beings from being shown on television, his message was delivered via voice recording instead of a television broadcast. How are women who are the sole providers for their families supposed to buy bread, seek medical care or simply exist if even their voices are forbidden? one activist said in response. Whatever he says is a form of mental torture for us, an Afghan woman in Kabul told The Telegraph. Living in Afghanistan is incredibly painful for us as women. Afghanistan is forgotten, and thats why they are suppressing us  they are torturing us on a daily basis. They say we cannot hear other womens voices, and I do not understand where these views come from, she added. Since taking power in Aug 2021, the Taliban has systematically restricted womens rights in Afghanistan. Women have already been ordered to cover their faces to avoid temptation and tempting others and refrain from speaking in the presence of unfamiliar men who are not husbands or close relatives. If it is necessary for women to leave their homes, they must cover their faces and voices from men and be accompanied by a male guardian, according to the rules approved by the Talibans supreme leader. Afghan women have also been ordered not to speak loudly inside their homes, to prevent their voices from being heard outside. Women who defy the new rules will be arrested and sent to prison, the Taliban said. The Talibans supreme leader has also vowed to start stoning women to death in public. They [the Taliban] are waging an all-out war against us, and we have no one in the world to hear our voices, a former civil servant told The Telegraph from Kabul. The world has abandoned us, she added. They left us to the Taliban, and whatever happens to us now is a result of Western government policies. I feel depressed. The world is advancing in technology and having fun with their lives, but here we cannot even hear each others voices, she said. They want us not to exist at all, and theres nothing we can do about it, another woman in western Herat province said. They may succeed at some point, as many are taking their lives due to the pressure, she added They think ruling Afghanistan is only about suppressing women  we didnt commit a crime by being born as women, she said. Below are some of the things the Taliban has said Afghan women are not allowed to do: 1.Drive a car 2.Speak in public 3.Speak loudly inside your house 4. Travel alone 4. Own a smartphone 6. Wear bright clothes 7. Wear high-heels 8. Go to high school or university 9. Sing 10. Read the Quran aloud in public 11. Look at men they dont know 12. Attend a protest 13. Go to the gym 14. Go to the park 15. Work in the civil service 16. Ride in a taxi 17. Go abroad 18. Show their faces in public 19. Speak to a male doctor 20. Play sportThe post Taliban bans women from hearing other womens voices appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.