KABUL: The Taliban are banning women from using gymnasiums in Afghanistan, an official said on Thursday, the religious group’s latest edict cracking down on women’s rights and freedoms since they came to power more than a year ago.
The Taliban invaded the country last year, taking power in August 2021. They banned girls from attending middle school and high school, despite initial promises made to the country, restricted women from most fields of employment. jobs and ordered them to wear head-to-toe clothing in public.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Virtue and Vice said the ban was introduced because people were ignoring gender segregation orders and women were not wearing the required hijab or head covering. Women are also prohibited from entering the parks.
The ban on women using gyms and parks came into effect this week.
Mohammed Akef Mohajer, a Taliban-appointed spokesman for the Ministry of Vice and Virtue, said the group had “done its best” over the past 15 months to avoid closing parks and gymnasiums for women, by ordering separate days of the week for men and women. access or impose gender segregation. “But, unfortunately, orders were not followed and rules were violated, and we had to close parks and gymnasiums for women,” Mahjer said.
“In most cases we saw men and women together in parks and unfortunately the hijab was not seen. So we had to make another decision and for now we have ordered that all parks and gyms be closed to women.”
Taliban teams will start monitoring establishments to check whether women are still using them, he said.
Hardliners appear to dominate the Taliban-led administration, which is struggling to govern and remains internationally isolated. An economic downturn has plunged millions more Afghans into poverty and hunger as the flow of foreign aid has dwindled to a trickle.
The Taliban invaded the country last year, taking power in August 2021. They banned girls from attending middle school and high school, despite initial promises made to the country, restricted women from most fields of employment. jobs and ordered them to wear head-to-toe clothing in public.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Virtue and Vice said the ban was introduced because people were ignoring gender segregation orders and women were not wearing the required hijab or head covering. Women are also prohibited from entering the parks.
The ban on women using gyms and parks came into effect this week.
Mohammed Akef Mohajer, a Taliban-appointed spokesman for the Ministry of Vice and Virtue, said the group had “done its best” over the past 15 months to avoid closing parks and gymnasiums for women, by ordering separate days of the week for men and women. access or impose gender segregation. “But, unfortunately, orders were not followed and rules were violated, and we had to close parks and gymnasiums for women,” Mahjer said.
“In most cases we saw men and women together in parks and unfortunately the hijab was not seen. So we had to make another decision and for now we have ordered that all parks and gyms be closed to women.”
Taliban teams will start monitoring establishments to check whether women are still using them, he said.
Hardliners appear to dominate the Taliban-led administration, which is struggling to govern and remains internationally isolated. An economic downturn has plunged millions more Afghans into poverty and hunger as the flow of foreign aid has dwindled to a trickle.
