What’s going on in Herat?
Since Monday, the Taliban authorities have decided to ban restaurants with gardens or green spaces for women and families, following complaints from religious scholars and members of the public regarding the mixing of sexes in public. . According to the same complainants, women there would not wear the hijab or the Islamic headscarf correctly.
Ah good ! The Taliban react to complaints?
PHOTO OMID HAQJOO, ASSOCIATED PRESS
A restaurant closed by the Taliban on Monday in Herat, Afghanistan
Joined by The Press in Vancouver, Lauryn Oates, executive director of Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan, makes this argument. “The reason given by the Taliban is a tactic they use every time they want to implement new rules,” she said. Every day a new rule is added. It’s part of a pattern to erase women from public spaces. »
What other rules have been adopted?
When they returned to power on August 15, 2021, the Taliban expressed intentions of openness in order to build international credibility. But as of September 2021, the right to education for girls aged 12 and over is suspended. In December 2022, access to universities is prohibited for women. Since December 24, 2022, they can no longer work for non-governmental organizations (NGOs). And for a few days, they can no longer work for the UN. They are also banned from public places, hammams and training rooms. Also in Herat, we stopped issuing them driving licenses.
Is this ban in restaurants a first?
No. On May 12, 2022, dispatches from Herat indicated that the Taliban authorities had banned men and women from eating together in restaurants, including married couples. The directive came from the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. But following three days, the Taliban regime denied the news and said men and women might eat together once more.
Why is Herat in the hot seat?
Because the city is considered progressive within this country with an ultra-conservative regime. “Herat is a populous province with influence. Elsewhere, in Afghanistan, we look at what is happening there, says Lauryn Oates. It is an educated province, close to Iran, with several schools for girls. It is perhaps because of this more liberal culture that the Taliban wanted to bring people to heel. »
Are the rules the same everywhere in the country?
PHOTO OMID HAQJOO, ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Sky Game Net restaurant in Herat, also affected by the new measure, was closed on Monday.
“No, answers M.me Oates. The Taliban are not used to governing. Their way of doing things is inconstant and distracted. In the province of Ghor, neighboring Herat, we do not want NGOs and we are hostile to them. Whereas in other provinces, they are asked to be there, to set up programs and we will give them the help of the police. That said, power is in the hands of the Taliban in Kandahar, who are the most conservative. »
And what regarding the rules in restaurants outside of Herat?
First, there are few restaurants, because the majority of people are very poor, recalls Lauryn Oates. “Several have closed their doors,” she said. Among those that remain open, diversity is the exception, either because we follow the rules dictated by Kandahar or simply because the owners impose them on their own. » A recent article by the New York Times evokes a popular restaurant in Kabul where men and women eat on separate floors. In February, an Afghan entrepreneur, Samira Mohammadi, also attracted attention with her restaurant Wawa in Kabul, open only to women and where all the staff are female. Mme Mahommadi hired several orphaned, widowed and penniless women.
What regarding elsewhere in the Muslim world?
On Sunday, December 8, 2019, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Municipalities and Rural Affairs announced that the state was ending an old tradition of separating men and women at the entrance to restaurants and country cafes. This easing was part of the reform initiatives launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
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- 30 %
- Proportion of young Afghan girls who have never set foot in a primary school
SOURCE : Let girls and women in AfgHanistan learn !UNESCO article
