Women silenced in Afghanistan - banned from phones and media

[ArabellaScott]

https://rukhshana.com/en/women-and-girls-restricted-from-media-phone-calls-in-khost-province

'The Taliban police headquarters in Khost province issued a written directive Saturday to the media, declaring a ban on any phone contact between women and girls with audio and visual media outlets.
According to the statement, media officials are warned that facilitating phone contact between girls and media outlets will result in summoning and pursuit.
The directive accuses some private radio stations in Khost province of promoting moral corruption, citing school lessons and social programs involving girls as a primary example.'

'A woman's voice is deemed intimate and so should not be heard singing, reciting poetry, or reading aloud in public '

The people on X celebrating that JK Rowling has been silent for a week will be delighted by this.

Weirdly, the Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has a website with English translation, and a Facebook page.

https://mopvpe.gov.af/en/biography-ministry-leadership

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100095062819819

The latter is somewhat silent.

Spam it?

I see the Linda Norgrove Foundation has just brought 20 Afghan women medical students to Scotland to complete their studies 👏
I'm sure they'd welcome any help with giving them financial assistance

A really really telling sentence from this account of an Egyptian filmmaker who spent time with them

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0l81rykd55o

"That little devil is filming,” an unknown Taliban military figure comments to Mukhtar in Nash’at’s presence. “I hope he doesn’t bring us shame in front of China.”

This, remember is is the self appointed religious authority that is meant to be the guarantor of the wellbeing of the (Sunni) islamic world. And they are fretting about atheist communist Chinese money men

Thank you for this thread. I had heard about the medical students going to Scotland, but I didn't know about the charity. I've sent up a standing order to help them.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/08/22/middleeast/taliban-law-women-voices-intl-latam/index.html
'Among the new rules, Article 13 relates to women: It says it is mandatory for a woman to veil her body at all times in public and that a face covering is essential to avoid temptation and tempting others. Clothing should not be thin, tight or short.
Women are also obliged to cover themselves in front of non-Muslim males and females to avoid being corrupted. A woman’s voice is deemed intimate and so should not be heard singing, reciting, or reading aloud in public. It is forbidden for women to look at men they are not related to by blood or marriage and vice versa.

It’s absolutely terrifying that this has happened and the world seems powerless to intervene.

I've no words. Awful 🥲

Afghanistan has, in effect, imprisoned half of its population. If the half it had imprisoned was the male sex, I suspect the rest of the world would have done something about it by now.

It’s hard to understand the depth of contempt these men have for women.

On a flippant note, perhaps Mr Tickle should move to Afghanistan to get the full “woman” experience.

Unbelievable and so awful that this is happening with, as others have said, the world standing by and watching.

I don’t really understand why women are so despised. I think men feat losing control of women. In many traditional cultures the honour of the family rests on the women behaving in an “appropriate” manner. I think this is about men maintaining their “honour”. They don’t see women as human, just maids and sex.

I just don’t have words for this, it’s abhorrent.

Just to add that I heard about the Linda Norgrove Foundation on this site and have supported them for over a year. They are a small charity who focus on getting funds to grassroots organisations helping women in Afghanistan, including projects such as getting that tiny group of medical students over to Scotland to finish their studies. Those particular students were chosen because they are almost qualified, so the effect of a relatively small project* like getting them here for a year is greater. They're a very impressive and focused charity.

*years of unrelenting lobbying and effort, plus having to turn down many many women who would benefit

So sad and awful, really terrifying to see where this has led

It's bad enough being a woman outside Afghanistan and knowing this is going on.

I suspect if any nation did do something now it would be seen as imperialism and there'd be lots of annoyed articles about Western feminism being imposed on them in the Guardian .

What could be done? I'm not sure anyone wants to go in anymore to risk lives

Meanwhile: lead poisoning in the cookware

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/climate-and-people/why-afghans-are-slowly-being-poisoned-by-their-evening-meal/

There was a piece on the Today Programme on R4 this morning just before 8am about the silencing of women in Afghanistan. Just totally shocking.

Awful. It’s an absolute nightmare for the women of Afghanistan. I notice the Taliban is trying to encourage Westerners to go on holiday there, I guess because they need hard currency. But I can’t understand why anyone would support the regime like that. It would be like holidaying in North Korea.

I know it's all true, but I almost cannot beieve what I am reading.

I saw this on X/Twitter & thought it must be fake news. But it seems it's true. What a nightmare for women in Afghanistan.

Why is nobody in the west protesting about this?

We have some Afghani girls at my school & not only do they not speak any English when they arrive, they have barely had any formal education. It must be bewildering for them.

I think the men are being ridiculous if hearing a female voice in public is too much of a temptation for them.

Every female in Afghanistan is viewed as nothing more than a slave. It is beyond our comprehension, the danger and horrific lives they face.

This news headline yesterday even got me thinking, if I were a woman in Afghanistan and I gave birth to a female baby, would I commit infanticide in order to save my baby from a fate worse than death itself?

My heart bleeds for every woman and girl enslaved under that terrible regime.

Here is the X/Twitter thread

x.com/nasimishabnam/status/1826914161994989817?s=46

It’s state sanctioned slavery.

don’t be seen don’t be heard