UNITED NATIONS, Aug 27 : A new morality law enacted by the Taliban in Afghanistan, cements policies that \u201ccompletely erase\u201d women\u2019s presence in public, the UN Human Rights Office, OHCHR, said Tuesday, calling for it to be immediately revoked.<\/p>\n
The \u201cLaw on the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice\u201d silences women\u2019s voices and deprives them of their autonomy, \u201ceffectively attempting to render them into faceless, voiceless shadows\u201d, said Ravina Shamdasani, OHCHR\u2019s Chief Spokesperson, in Geneva.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is utterly intolerable,\u201d she stressed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe call on the de facto authorities to immediately repeal this legislation, which is in clear violation of Afghanistan\u2019s obligations under international human rights law.\u201d<\/p>\n
The law adopted last week imposes a lengthy list of repressive provisions on women, including mandates that they wear clothing covering their entire bodies, bans on their voices being heard in public, and further restrictions on their movement without a male relative, it was pointed out.<\/p>\n
Even the sound of a female voice outside the home is apparently deemed a moral violation.<\/p>\n
The law also requires men to grow beards, bans drivers from playing music, and restricts the media from publishing images of people. State agents are granted broad powers to detain individuals and impose punishments.<\/p>\n
Ms. Shamdasani emphasized that disempowering and rendering Afghan women and girls invisible will only worsen the human rights and humanitarian crisis in the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cRather, this is a time to bring together all the people of Afghanistan, irrespective of their gender, religion or ethnicity, to help resolve the many challenges the country faces,\u201d she urged.<\/p>\n
The UN\u2019s top envoy to Afghanistan, Roza Otunbayeva, also denounced the new law, describing it a \u201cdistressing vision\u201d for the country\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter decades of war and in the midst of a terrible humanitarian crisis, the Afghan people deserve much better than being threatened or jailed if they happen to be late for prayers, glance at a member of the opposite sex who is not a family member, or possess a photo of a loved one,\u201d she said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Ms Otunbayeva added that the international community \u201chad been seeking, in good faith\u201d to constructively engage with the Taliban.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe world wants to see Afghanistan on the path of peace and prosperity, where all Afghans have a stake in their future, are citizens with rights and not just subjects to be disciplined.\u201d<\/p>\n
She emphasized that further restricting the rights of the Afghans and holding them in constant fear will make achieving that goal \u201ceven harder\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 27 : A new morality law enacted by the Taliban in Afghanistan, cements policies that \u201ccompletely erase\u201d women\u2019s presence in public, the UN Human Rights Office, OHCHR, said Tuesday, calling for it to be immediately revoked. The \u201cLaw on the Promotion of […]<\/p>\n
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