2023-08-28 20:19:32
This Monday (28), several NGOs denounced the Taliban’s decision to ban Afghan women from entering Band-e-Amir National Park, an important tourist destination in Afghanistan and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The reason for the ban would be disrespect for the use of the Islamic headscarf in public spaces.
Published on: 08/28/2023 – 20:19
2 min
“Not content with depriving girls and women of education, employment and freedom of movement, the Taliban also want to take away parks and sports, and now even nature,” criticized the deputy director of women’s human rights at the NGO Human Rights Watch, Heather Barr.
“Little by little, the walls are closing in on women. Every house becomes a prison,” she denounced in a statement, describing her decision as “cruel” and “completely deliberate”.
The Afghan Minister of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, justified the decision on Saturday, during a visit to Bamyan province, claiming that the use of the hijab, a veil that covers the body and head, was not respected in last two years.
“We have to take strong measures from today” to prevent this disrespect towards the hijab, he said. “Women and our sisters will no longer be able to go to Band-e-Amir until we have established norms (…). Tourism exists, they can do tourism, but tourism is not mandatory”, he added.
Women lose rights every day
Since regaining power in Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban have not stopped reducing the rights of Afghan women, who cannot attend high schools or universities, nor work for NGOs or in the civil service.
“Can anyone explain why this restriction imposed on women going to Band-e-Amir is necessary in order to comply with ‘sharia’ and Afghan culture?” asks UN Special Envoy for Human Rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, in social network X (formerly Twitter).
After the announcement of the measure, several Afghan women used social networks to show their indignation, publishing photos of their visit to this park.
“Band-e-Amir speaks of peace and beauty. I hope that one day the Taliban will find these concepts in their cold hearts,” one wrote on X.
The Bamyan Valley, one of Afghanistan’s top tourist destinations, is located in the center of the country. The site was known for the giant Buddhas that the Taliban destroyed in 2001, but also for the series of turquoise water lakes of Band-e-Amir, included in the UNESCO world heritage in 2003.
(With information from AFP)
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