Afghanistan: Taliban issue fresh order, now ban women's entry to amusement parks
Afghan women protest against inequality under Taliban government
Women in Afghanistan will be denied entry to amusement parks in the country, the Taliban government's "morality police" ordered on Wednesday.
The ban adds to a series of gender-oppressive measures imposed by the Taliban-led government after it dethroned the democratically-elected Ashraf Ghani government in Kabul last August, followed by a chaotic exit of the last US forces stationed there in operative capacity since the aftermath of September 11, 2001 attacks.
What do we know so far?
A spokesperson for Afghanistan's Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (MPVPV) said on Wednesday that women would not be allowed to enter amusement parks.
Two park operators were quoted as saying by the Reuters news agency that the Taliban had directed them not to allow women to enter their parks.
WATCH |Afghanistan: Women stopped from entering parks in Kabul as Taliban issues new diktat
Earlier, the Taliban-led administration had directed the amusement park businesses that their parks must be segregated according to gender, with some days reserved exclusively for women. This rule also ran its jurisdiction to all public parks, including open spaces, and public baths.
The Taliban government did not clarify how the restrictions would work alongside this previous order.
New rule part of curtailment of women's freedoms in Afghanistan
One of the first acts of Afghanistan's Taliban government, once the hardliner group became the undisputed leadership entity of Afghanistan, was to deprive girls of getting a secondary education.
The government also did not keep its promise of opening all girls' high schools in March.
The Taliban government had also directed the women they mustnot leave their homes without a male relative and must cover their faces.
Women have been removed from public service positions except where they cannot be filled by men in education, health, and some elements of policing.
A United Nations report in August pointed out that "the increasingly dangerous and hopeless situation for women and girls has contributed to a reported increase of suicides among women."
(With inputs from agencies)
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