Afghan Women 'Very Afraid' Of New Taliban Law, Says NGO Worker

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Sibylle Mani, the Human Rights Coordinator for Afghanistan at the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), travelled to Afghanistan at the end of August. In an interview she explains her mission to get an insight into the current challenging situation of human rights and the shrinking civic space in the country.

Afghanistan ratified the convention against Torture in 1987, which it must adhere to regardless of which government is in power. Mani hadn't travelled to the country since the Taliban came to power more than three years ago.

The OMCT is mandated by the UN Committee against Torture to coordinate the NGOs globally that submit reports on their countries. The OMCT works in over 90 countries and has around 200 member organisations. This was its first mission to Afghanistan.

During her one-week mission, Mani met local and international NGOs and had rare access to former prisoners, who described their conditions behind bars, where they have faced torture and other forms of ill-treatment. She was also able to meet and talk to women and human rights defenders about the new restrictions on their freedoms in place since the Summer.

SWI swissinfo: Since the Taliban came to power, they have severely restricted the rights of girls and women. Girls cannot attend secondary school, women have few job opportunities and are not allowed to travel without a male relative. Since last August, a new set of laws known as PVP (Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Law) has imposed new restrictions on women, including a strict dress code. How do these new regulations affect the daily lives of girls and women?

Sibylle Mani: Women are very afraid of this law, which summarises all the rules that the Taliban have enacted since they came to power. It is extremely restrictive and interferes deeply with their private lives. Among other things, the law stipulates how women must dress: they must cover their face with a mask as well as their hands and feet when they leave their house.

One woman told me that if she had a complaint to the local authorities in the past, she could report it to the provincial governor's office. She was allowed to enter the building and report her concern to the employees through a window. Since the introduction of the PVP, she has been denied access to the building on the grounds that her eyes are not covered and that she no longer has the right to speak in public.

Another woman who owns a private clinic was told by the authorities that she is no longer allowed to run family planning courses for women. She is also no longer allowed to distribute health kits to women. These kits contain menstrual pads, creams to heal wounds and painkillers, among other things. They now have to be distributed by the district health office, i.e. the government, to the husbands. Many men are ashamed to accept such items. As a result, not all women receive them.

Depending on how conservative a local mullah is, life in Afghanistan may or may not be easier. Implementation of regulations vary. In Kabul, for instance, most women don't wear socks or gloves at the moment and only put a mask on their face at a checkpoint.

SWI: Does the PVP also apply to men?

S.M: The law also contains provisions for men, such as the length of their beard. Another new aspect of the law is that women and men should not work with foreigners.

The PVP authorities, i.e. the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, are responsible for deciding and implementing punishments, not the police. And they can make house calls at any time. The Taliban also put pressure on men to keep their wives under control. The Taliban arrest men and threaten them, saying for example: 'You can't control your wife, she left the house without a veil. You have to adjust to the new rules otherwise we have use other measures'.

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