In Afghanistan, the Taliban ban windows that allow women to see

In Kandahar, Afghanistan, December 29, 2024. SANAULLAH SEIAM / AFP Progressively driven out of public spaces, Afghan women must now be hidden from the gaze of men, including when they are at home. The supreme leader of the Taliban ordered to block and no longer build windows that overlook living spaces occupied by Afghan women. According to a press release published on Saturday, December 28, in the evening, by the spokesperson for the Taliban government, it will now be necessary, in the event of the construction of a new building, that it be devoid of windows through which it is possible to see up close “the courtyard, the kitchen, the neighbors’ well and other places usually used by women”. “Seeing women working in kitchens, in courtyards or collecting water in wells can lead to obscene acts,” specifies the document distributed by Zabihullah Mujahid on the social network X, written in Arabic, Dari and Pashto. The town hall and other relevant services will have to monitor construction sites to ensure that it is not possible to see into neighbors’ homes, the text continues. In the event that such facing windows exist, owners are invited to build a wall or obstruct the view, “to avoid nuisance caused to neighbors,” states the decree. “Gender apartheid” Since the return of the Taliban to power in August 2021, women have gradually been ousted from all public spaces, pushing the UN to denounce “gender apartheid”. Currently, Afghan women can no longer study beyond primary school, go to parks, gyms, beauty salons, or almost leave their homes without a chaperone. Read the testimonies: Article reserved for our subscribers In Afghanistan, the last days of beauty salons, the ultimate measure of confinement for women Read later A recent law prohibits them from singing or declaiming poetry, by virtue, like the others directives, an ultra-rigorous application of Islamic law. It also encourages them to “veil” their voice outside their homes. Some local radio and television stations have stopped broadcasting female voices. The Taliban government assures that Islamic law “guarantees” the rights of Afghans. Le Monde with AFP Reuse this content



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