KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Women with multiple marginalized identities and ethnic minorities in Afghanistan are bearing the brunt of the Taliban’s so-called “Law on the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice,” a new report finds.
The report, titled “The Morality Police Are Everywhere,” was recently released by Farageer, a Canada-based non-profit organization. It highlights inconsistencies in the enforcement of the Taliban’s law, which was enacted in August last year.
The 35-article law mandates that women wear full-body veils in public, forbids them from speaking or singing audibly in any setting, and bans their direct eye contact with unrelated men. Women are also prohibited from using taxis without a male guardian.
For men, the regulations prohibit wearing ties, shorts, or “un-Islamic” hairstyles and require beards to be at least fist-length. Non-compliance is met with penalties ranging from verbal warnings and fines to arrests lasting from one hour to three days, with repeat offenders referred to the courts.
The report, based on interviews with experts, activists, academics, and over 200 women across 20 provinces, suggests that while the law affects all Afghans, its enforcement is particularly harsh in ethnic minority-dominated areas, where resistance to Taliban policies is stronger.
“The Taliban have weaponized the law to unfairly target ethnic minorities, and its enforcement is much stricter in these communities,” the report states.
Women from specific social and economic backgrounds are also disproportionately affected. Younger women are more frequently targeted by the morality police, and female-headed households are especially vulnerable since women are unable to work or leave their homes without a male guardian, the report says.
The Taliban’s restrictive policies, particularly the morality law, have had severe consequences for mental health in Afghanistan, according to the report.
Women banned from education and employment reported suffering from depression, anxiety, and stress due to prolonged confinement. The report also found that men are punished if female family members violate Taliban rules, increasing surveillance over women and further limiting their mobility.
Many participants reported witnessing public beatings, arrests, and assaults on women for offenses such as wearing thin hijabs, not covering their faces, or traveling alone.
The report warns that continuous harassment by Taliban enforcers has instilled deep fear in women and their families, further restricting their already limited freedoms. It also found that the morality law has encouraged families and communities to act as enforcers, deepening distrust within society.
“Women fear being reported to the Taliban by their neighbors. This situation has contributed to increased distrust within the community and the breakdown of social fabric, leading to a greater sense of isolation for women.”
The report describes the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls as “gender apartheid” and calls on the international community to recognize it as a crime against humanity.
It urges the UN sanctions committee to deny travel waivers for Taliban leaders and impose stricter sanctions. It also calls on regional countries to uphold their human rights commitments by ceasing diplomatic and trade engagements with the Taliban.
Additionally, the report urges Islamic nations to hold the Taliban accountable not only for violating women’s rights but also for weaponizing Islam and damaging its credibility.
