Ban on Women's Entry to Afghanistan's National Park; Taliban: Leisure is Not Essential, Hijab is Mandatory

The Taliban of Afghanistan has banned women from entering the country's national park without a chador and traditional hijab. Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, the Taliban's Minister of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, announced this ban during his recent visit to Bamiyan province, home to the famous Band-e Amir park. In a televised speech on Saturday in the Hazara Shiite region, Hanafi stated that the hijab law, which has been in effect in Afghanistan for two years, is being violated. After visiting the park, he told religious clerics and security officials, 'Until new regulations are established, women must be prohibited from entering Band-e Amir.' He emphasized, 'Leisure is not essential, but hijab is mandatory.' Band-e Amir park is popular among domestic and foreign tourists in the impoverished Bamiyan province of Afghanistan. This decision by the Taliban has faced backlash from human rights activists. The ban on women's entry to this park is part of the ongoing and increasing repression of women's and girls' rights by the Taliban. Heather Barr from Human Rights Watch told Voice of America that the Taliban has deprived women and girls of many things, including education, work, and freedom of movement. The Deputy Director of the Women's Rights Division at Human Rights Watch based in the United States stated that the Taliban aims to deliberately eliminate joy and a sense of humanity in women with this ban and other restrictions on women in sports and more. The Taliban, which regained power in Afghanistan in August 2021, imposed its strict interpretation of Islamic law or Sharia on the country. They have banned girls from attending school beyond the sixth grade. Under the Taliban regime, most Afghan women are barred from working in civil service and national and international NGOs. The international community has refrained from recognizing the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan due to the restrictions and treatment of women. Two years after the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, human rights violations are escalating.