Reactions to the Taliban’s Enactment of the Promotion of Virtue Law: An Attempt to Silence the People of Afghanistan

Hadja Lahbib, Belgium Foreign Minister, responded to the Taliban’s law on Saturday (August 24) in a post on social media platform X, stating that this law aims to remove half of Afghanistan’s population—its women—from public spaces. She emphasized that the voices and positions of Afghan women must be strengthened, and Belgium will continue to support Afghanistan's civil society.

The Japanese Embassy in Kabul also expressed concern about the restrictions imposed on Afghan women and girls by the Taliban, stressing that, in coordination with the international community, they will encourage the Taliban to listen to the voices of women and girls seeking education, work, and freedom of movement.

Meanwhile, Canada’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement condemning the enactment of this law, describing it as an attempt to silence the people of Afghanistan, particularly women and girls. The ministry called on the Taliban to lift all restrictions imposed on women and girls and to end human rights violations in Afghanistan.

The Taliban's Ministry of Justice recently announced that the group's leader has enacted the "Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice" law, which is now in effect.

This law mandates that women must cover their entire bodies, and it states that a woman's voice is considered part of her "awrah" (parts of the body that must be covered). According to this law, women's clothing must not be short, thin, or tight, and when leaving the house, women must cover their faces, voices, and bodies.

The law also imposes extensive restrictions on the appearance of men, prohibiting them from shaving or trimming their beards.

Additionally, the Taliban have banned listening to music and watching films and pictures of living beings on computers and mobile phones, with various punishments imposed on those who violate the law.

It is noteworthy that Germany’s Foreign Minister referred to this law as "100 pages of hatred against women," and the US special representative for women and human rights for Afghanistan also considered it a return of the Taliban to the policies of the 1990s.