The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has announced that Taliban inspectors from the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice are monitoring healthcare centers and retail shops across several provinces to prevent women without a male guardian (mahram) from accessing these facilities. These findings were detailed in the agency's latest human rights report on Afghanistan, published today, Tuesday, July 28.
According to the report, Vice and Virtue inspectors in Kandahar province instructed shops selling cosmetics and women’s products to refrain from selling any goods to women arriving without a mahram. The report notes that this directive was issued as part of efforts to enforce Taliban regulations.
UNAMA also reported that during a May 21 visit to a healthcare facility in Deh Rawood district, Vice and Virtue officials reiterated that female patients must not receive medical services without a mahram. Furthermore, the agency stated that inspectors required female healthcare staff to be accompanied by a mahram during working hours.
In another section of the report, UNAMA documented an incident in Logar province where Vice and Virtue inspectors warned a woman shopping for food not to return to the market without a mahram in the future. Additionally, the shopkeeper who sold goods to her was reportedly slapped and detained by inspectors, only to be released after providing a written commitment not to serve unaccompanied women.
The report further notes that in June, Vice and Virtue officials in Badakhshan province interrogated several women shopping at a market for lacking a mahram and for failing to observe what officials deemed "proper hijab." UNAMA added that a male shopkeeper who spoke up in defense of these women faced the temporary closure of his shop for three days.
According to UNAMA, when the shopkeeper went to the Vice and Virtue office to retrieve his shop keys, a verbal altercation occurred with officials, leading to his detention for several hours. He was ultimately released following the intervention of local tribal elders.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
