Taliban enacts new law banning women’s voices and faces in public, sparking global condemnation

KABUL — The Taliban continues its oppressive policies against women, issuing a new law that bans women from revealing their voices or faces in public spaces. This latest restriction adds to a growing list of severe limitations imposed on Afghan women since the Taliban took control in 2021.

The United Nations has strongly condemned the new law, warning that it further deepens the already severe restrictions on women’s rights in Afghanistan. These restrictions include barring women from education beyond primary school and prohibiting them from working in various professions.

Fiona Fraser, head of the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Afghanistan, expressed grave concern over the escalating measures, emphasizing that these laws heighten fears among all Afghans, particularly women and girls.

Since the Taliban’s return to power, Afghanistan has become the only country in the world where girls and women are systematically denied access to secondary education and higher learning. The international community remains alarmed by the Taliban’s relentless efforts to erase women from public life, calling for urgent action to protect their rights.