Taliban ratify strict 'vice and virtue laws' in Afghanistan

Laws regulate clothing and behaviour for both men and women

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Afghanistan's interim Taliban government on Thursday ratified new legislation enforcing dress codes and behaviour for both men and women, according to local media.

The "vice and virtue laws" approved by the Taliban mandate that women must fully cover their faces and bodies with veils to "avoid causing temptation," Afghan news outlet Tolo reported.

It also prohibits women from singing or reciting aloud in public and bans drivers from transporting adult women without a male guardian, the outlet added.

For men, the law forbids wearing ties, shaving, or trimming beards shorter than a fist length, and certain hairstyles deemed “un-Islamic” in the view of the Taliban.

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Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, the acting minister of vice and virtue, stressed that there would be "no compromise in the enforcement of Islamic laws.”

This development comes nearly three years after the Taliban's return to power in the capital Kabul on Aug. 25, 2021.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general, said Friday that the new laws make it difficult to imagine a better future or development for Afghanistan.