According to Afghanistan’s acting minister of virtue and vice, women have not been wearing their hijabs in the correct manner while in the park. Afghanistan’s first national park, Band-e-Amir, was created in April 2009.
According to the BBC, The Taliban have prohibited women from visiting one of Afghanistan’s most well-known national parks in yet another regressive action. Mohammad Khaled Hanafi, Afghanistan’s acting minister of virtue and vice, claimed that women haven’t been dressing modestly while in the park by donning the hijab.
Hanafi encouraged security agencies and religious authorities to forbid women from entering until a solution was found, saying, “Going sightseeing is not a must for women.”
There have been concerns about substandard or absent hijabs, but these people are not from Bamiyan. They travel from elsewhere to visit us,” The Bamiyan Shia Ulema Council’s head, Sayed Nasrullah Waezi, told Tolo news.
Band-e-Amir National Park, the first national park in Afghanistan, was created in April 2009 and is still a well-liked tourist destination. The park is described by UNESCO as a “naturally created group of lakes with special geological formations and structure, as well as natural and unique beauty”.
Human rights activists are concerned about the decision. As evidenced by the most recent ban on women entering Band-e-Amir, Heather Barr, associate director for women’s rights at Human Rights Watch, stated that the Taliban “want to take from them parks and sport and now even nature, not content with depriving girls and women of education, employment and free movement.”
Every family is becoming into a jail, and the walls are gradually closing in on women, she continued.
Can someone explain why this ban on women attending Band-e-Amir is important to adhere to sharia and Afghan culture? asked the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan .
The Taliban increased restrictions on all aspects of women’s lives despite pledging a softer rule when they won control and disregarded worldwide protests. In the Herat region of Afghanistan, they reportedly forbade families and women from entering restaurants with gardens or green spaces a few months ago, according to Fox News.
In addition, women are not allowed to hold positions of authority, are not permitted to attend college or secondary school, are not permitted to work, and are not permitted to travel unless they are accompanied by a male friend. Parks, gyms, and other public spaces have all been designated as being off-limits to women.
