The Taliban in Afghanistan have enacted a new set of restrictive laws targeting women and girls, drawing widespread international condemnation. The laws, issued by the Taliban's Ministry of Vice and Virtue, prohibit women from showing their faces in public, singing, speaking out loud, and traveling alone. These edicts, part of over 80 issued, are reminiscent of the stringent rules previously enforced by Daesh in Syria. The Japanese embassy in Kabul, Canada, and Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong have expressed deep concern over these developments, describing them as a deliberate effort to silence Afghan women and girls. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has also criticized the morality law, warning that it imposes extensive restrictions on personal conduct and grants broad powers to morality police. Protests have erupted in cities such as New York, London, Paris, and Berlin in response to these oppressive measures. The UN envoy has warned of a distressing vision for Afghanistan.
