An official in Kabul said on Thursday that the Taliban are banning women from using gyms in Afghanistan. The new diktat will be another means to restrict women’s rights and freedom in the name of religion since the group took to power in August 2021.
Ever since the religious group seized power, they have banned young girls from middle school and high school, restricted women from most technical fields of employment, from expressing themselves, and made it mandatory for them to wear hijab or niqab in public.
A spokesperson from the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice noted that the ban was being introduced as people were ignoring gender segregation orders and women were refusing to wear the head covering or the hijab.
Women’s rights in Afghanistan
Women have been expelled from many areas of the labor force, including the media and entertainment fields. Survey data from global institutions shows that the risk of child marriage issues is growing in rural areas of the country.
Occurrences of honor killings are widespread, notably in the countryside and rural areas. Women’s oppression and lack of women’s representation in the cabinet, coupled with food insecurity, and financial and humanitarian crisis makes civic life’s condition even worse.
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When the Taliban fell, hopes were renewed for the improvement of Afghan socio-political and economic policies. Complex political changes in Afghanistan have observed the deterioration of women’s rights in the country with international activists, NGOs, and women protesters stressing on the growing need to remedy this crisis and make their voices heard.
According to Mohammed Akef Mohajer, a Taliban-appointed spokesperson, women are also banned from entering parks and the ban on women using gyms and parks came into force this week.
Explaining the curbs, Mohammed said that the administration had tried its best over the past 15 months to avoid curbs, ordering separate days of the week for male and female access to gyms and parks, but unfortunately the orders were not obeyed. “The rules were violated, and, unfortunately, the hijab was not observed so we had to come up with another decision and for now we ordered all parts and gyms to be closed for women. Taliban teams will begin monitoring establishments to check if women are still using them”, he recently said.
Women are increasingly being refused access to necessities and public spaces as they are banned from traveling long distances without male company.
International condemnation
Despite initial promises that women would be allowed to exercise their rights and freedoms within the Sharia law, including the right to work and study, the Taliban has systematically denied essential services to women.
Over time, as UN Women’s data shows, human rights violations against women and girls have only increased in Afghanistan. In a nutshell, women’s and girls’ lives and prospects are confined to the inner domain that is home in accordance with the contemporary vision.
International organizations like the United Nations have accused the Taliban-led administration of an economic downturn, driving millions of Afghans into poverty and hunger.
The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on Thursday accusing the Taliban of violating the human rights of women, failing to establish a representative government, and plunging the country into ‘dire’ conditions.
The resolution also pointed to persistent violence in the country in the presence of terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State and their affiliates.
India, being a neighbor and a long-standing partner of Afghanistan, told the UN that it is closely monitoring the situation there as it has direct stakes in ensuring the return of peace and stability to the country.
The German-facilitated resolution calls for improved access for aid workers and recognizes the need to help address Afghanistan’s economic challenges.
