Taliban’s order, remove windows so that women are not visible
#News Bureau January 2,2025
When the Taliban took over the reins of Afghanistan, it became clear that women were going to face the most problems. What problems, it can be said that their lives are going to be ruined. Is it even a matter that there cannot be windows in the houses because women cannot see outside or no one from outside can see the women! At least the Taliban has issued such an order.
The Taliban has issued an order banning the construction of windows in buildings overlooking areas where women are present. This order states that it is obscene for men to look at women in domestic spaces. The Taliban has been issuing such orders continuously since 2021.
The Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021 and since then it has changed all the progressive policies of the government towards women. In Afghanistan, the Taliban has banned post-primary education for girls and women. Women are also not allowed to work and visit parks and other public places.
The Taliban has introduced a law to prevent women from singing or reciting poetry in public under the Taliban government’s Islamic law. It also encourages them to cover their voices and bodies outside the home. Some local radio and television stations have also stopped broadcasting women’s voices.
Strict censorship has also been imposed on women’s voices and appearance under Taliban rule. The Taliban had issued a decree earlier this year that banned women from reading the Quran aloud in the presence of other women. It said that a woman’s voice is ‘awra’ i.e. an intimate part that should be hidden. Beauty salons, women-run bakeries and co-educational spaces have been closed.
In addition, travel restrictions have been imposed on women. Access to women’s health has also been restricted. Female students, who once thrived in nursing and midwifery programs, are now barred from attending classes.
This is being seen as an attempt to eliminate the presence of women in public. Due to such steps taken by the Taliban, the United Nations has called those steps gender apartheid and condemned it.
But in the meantime, the Taliban has again issued a new order that now windows cannot be installed in the houses. According to the AFP report, Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said, ‘Watching women working in the kitchen, courtyard or filling water from wells can be considered obscene acts.’
The decree says that new buildings should not have windows that overlook courtyards, kitchens or wells – traditionally spaces used by Afghan women. Not only should new buildings have no such windows, but older buildings should also have such windows that are visible.
The decree says that existing windows that are visible should be closed to prevent nuisance to neighbours.
The Taliban has said in its decree that local municipal authorities should monitor and implement the construction sites. That is, it is the responsibility of the municipality to complete it.
The Taliban’s continued enforcement of morality laws is similar to their rule during the 1990s, a period of severe suppression of women’s rights. Recent measures such as requiring male guardians for women’s travel and making it mandatory for women to cover their bodies in public places show the regime’s commitment to these strict policies.
The kind of morality laws that have been imposed in Afghanistan for the last three years were imposed in Iran in the 1980s and in a way took away women’s rights. In Iran, women’s hair and heads must be completely covered. Not wearing a hijab or not wearing it properly is punishable by jail and fines. Where women have a kind of shackles at every step.
Two years ago, women’s rights became an issue in Iran. A 22-year-old girl named Mahsa Amini died. The allegation was that she was admitted to the hospital after being beaten up in custody. She was detained by Iran’s morality police, which means ‘police that boasts of morality’. Mahsa Amini’s crime was that she had allegedly worn the hijab in the wrong way. She had not covered her hair completely. That is, according to the police, she had worn the hijab, but the way it was worn was ‘wrong’. This is why she lost her life.
After this incident with Amini, large-scale protests started in Iran. In this, Iranian women burnt their hijabs in public, cut their hair in protest. This is the same Iran where the reality about four decades ago was completely opposite to today. The lifestyle was like that of western countries. Dress and food habits too. Then the Islamic Revolution of 1979 took place in Iran and everything changed.
