Taliban renamed “Ministry of Women” to Ministry of “Enjoining the Good and Forbidding the Evil”
According to Kabul residents, the Taliban replaced the Ministry of Women’s Affairs with a “moral police”. Videos posted on social media show that women former employees of the office were apparently barred from entering the building.
On Friday, workers in Kabul changed the signboard of the Ministry of Women under its new name, which is a combination of Dari and Arabic, to “Ministries of Prayer, Guidance, Enjoining the Good and Forbidding the Evil,” Sputnik reported, quoting ISNA.
Residents of the Afghan capital sent videos to The Independent saying the name change was true. The films show female employees who say they have been trying to return to work for weeks, but are told to return home.
The Taliban, which seized power in Afghanistan last month, announced its cabinet 10 days ago. In this list, a guarantor has been introduced for the Ministry of Enjoining the Good and Forbidding the Evil. There has been no mention of a women minister in the male-dominated cabinet, but the Taliban have not yet confirmed the dissolution of the women’s ministry.
In videos shared online, women at the entrance to the Ministry of Women say the door was closed to them on Thursday.
“I am the only breadwinner for my family,” said a former ministry employee, according to Reuters. “What should an Afghan woman do when there is no ministry?”
Last month, the Taliban came to power with lightning advance across Afghanistan, and the former government fell amid a tumultuous withdrawal of US and other foreign forces.
The Taliban had previously been in power from 1996-2001, during which time it barred girls from going to school and women from work or higher education.
At that time, the Ministry of Enjoining the Good and Forbidding the Evil was recognized as the moral police of this group.
A senior Taliban leader said earlier this week that women were not allowed to work with men in government ministries.
Concerns about a ban on girls going to school follow a statement from the Taliban Ministry of Education on Facebook urging all sixth- to twelfth-grade male students (ages 11-18) and male teachers to resume their classes across Afghanistan. Came into being.
The statement, issued on Friday, made no mention of girls in those Sunni areas, raising concerns that the Taliban may impose restrictions on girls and women.
Since taking power last month, the Taliban have allowed first- to sixth-grade girls (ages 6 to 12) to resume their classes. During the Taliban rule in Afghanistan in the 1990s, they banned girls and women from attending school and at work.
In some provinces, women have not yet been allowed to continue working. But there are exceptions in health, hospitals and education.