Taliban authorities in Afghanistan said on Saturday that a “woman can talk to another woman”, denying recent reports of such a ban by the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (PVPV). “A woman can talk to another woman, women must interact with each other in society, women have needs,” said Saiful Islam Khyber, spokesperson for the ministry.
Recently, articles from the Afghan press in exile and international media claimed that PVPV Minister Mohammad Khalid Hanafi had banned women from speaking to each other, based on a sound recording. It’s “stupid” and “illogical,” retorted Mr. Khyber. These extracts concerned “exceptions”, he added, affirming that the minister then mentioned the specific case of women praying, urging them not to speak out loud during this moment.
The UN accuses the Taliban of having established “gender apartheid” since their return to power in 2021, by gradually driving women out of public spaces. Currently, Afghan women can no longer study beyond primary school, go to parks, gyms, beauty salons, or almost leave their homes without a chaperone.
A recent law prohibits them from singing or declaiming poetry, under, like other directives, an ultra-rigorous application of Islamic law. It also encourages them to “veil” their voices and their bodies outside their homes. Some local radio and television stations have also stopped broadcasting female voices. The Taliban government assures that Islamic law “guarantees” the rights of Afghans.
