Outrage at Taliban’s ban on women in national park
Rights monitors have condemned a ban on women visiting one of Afghanistan’s most popular national parks.
Rights monitors have condemned a ban on women visiting one of Afghanistan’s most popular national parks, the latest curb shutting women out of public life under Taliban government rule.
The Taliban government’s morality ministry closed the Band-e-Amir national park to women at the weekend, claiming female visitors were failing to cover up with proper Islamic dress.
The park, 175km west of Kabul, is renowned for its striking blue lakes surrounded by sweeping cliffs, and is a hugely popular spot for domestic tourism.
Human Rights Watch director Heather Barr said the decision to ban women was “cruel in a very intentional way”. “Not content with depriving girls and women of education, employment and free movement, the Taliban also want to take from them parks and sport, and now even nature,” she said.
“Step-by-step the walls are closing in on women as every home becomes a prison,” she said.
The Minister for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, justified the ban on Saturday on the grounds women were failing to wear hijabs properly.
“We must take action from today. We must prevent the non-observance of hijab,” he said during a visit to Bamyan province.
Ministry spokesman Akef Muhajir said local religious leaders requested the temporary closure because women from outside the province were not observing the hijab dress code.
Other national parks in Afghanistan remain open to all, he said.
UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan Richard Bennett asked on the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday “why this restriction... is necessary to comply with Sharia and Afghan culture?”
The announcement of the ban on visiting Band-e-Amir elicited posts from women on social media with pictures of trips to the park and expressing hopes they will return one day.
AFP
Ten takeaways from the Trump-Zelensky Oval Office spat
Great television but poor diplomacy. Here’s a top ten list after the remarkable televised meeting in the Oval Office, and a prediction for JD Vance’s future.
Final days: Gene Hackman was healthy, says daughter
After his ‘suspicious’ death, the Hollywood star’s friends and daughter reflect on his real ‘glory days’ growing old and writing novels in New Mexico seclusion.