The Afghan government has banned women from entering a national park in the country, raising the tone of criticism from international organizations of the measures imposed by the Taliban, according to a statement released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday.
“The Taliban are not satisfied with depriving girls and women of education, employment and freedom of movement, but also want to take away parks and sports grounds and now even nature.”in a statement accused the director of women’s rights at HRW, Heather Barr.
On Saturday, the Taliban have denied women access to the Band-e-Amir National Park, located in the central province of Bamyan, for allegedly not respecting the rules for wearing the hijab [véu islâmico].
The announcement of the decision was made to the media by the Minister of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, after a meeting with local religious leaders.
“Women and our sisters cannot go to Band-e-Amir until we reach an agreement in principle. Security services, elders and inspectors must take measures in this regard. Tourism is not a duty,” Hanafi said at the end of the meeting. according to the Afghan channel ToloNews.
This new veto, adding to a long list of restrictions the Taliban have adopted against women since they came to power, is due to the fact that “there are complaints about the lack of ‘hijab’ or the misuse of ‘hijab’ in the park, said the head of Bamyan’s Shia council, Sayed Nasrullah Waezi.
The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, expressed his discomfort at this measure on the social network X [ex-Twitter]questioning whether this restriction is really “necessary to comply with ‘Sharia’ [conjunto de leis islâmicas] and with the Afghan culture”.
Band-e-Amir consists of six lakes “created naturally with special formations and geological structures, as well as unique natural beauties,” according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which is the first national organization is. park that will be established in Afghanistan in 2009.
Women’s rights have been severely restricted since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan two years ago. Women were withdrawn from virtually all public life, denied access to secondary and university education, and prevented from working in most public spaces, with few exceptions.
In addition, authorities have issued restrictions that require them, among other things, to take to the streets with their faces covered and to be accompanied by a male relative on long journeys.
The reality in which Afghans live today increasingly resembles the first Taliban regime, which took place between 1996 and 2001, when women were forced to live on the basis of a rigid interpretation of Islam and its strict social code known as ‘pashtunwali’. , were imprisoned in the House of Afghans.
Source: DN
