Growing Taliban restrictions: Afghan women now prohibited from visiting popular national park

By Team Newsable | First Published Aug 28, 2023, 11:03 AM IST

Band-e-Amir holds great significance as a tourist destination, having been designated as Afghanistan's inaugural national park in 2009. The decision to prohibit women from visiting the Band-e-Amir national park is likely to deprive numerous families of the opportunity to experience this popular destination.

The Taliban government has implemented a ban on women visiting the Band-e-Amir national park located in Bamiyan province of Afghanistan. Mohammad Khaled Hanafi, the acting minister of virtue and vice in Afghanistan, stated that the ban was imposed because women were not adhering to the hijab dress code within the park.

Hanafi urged religious clerics and security agencies to enforce the restriction on women's entry to the park until a resolution could be reached.

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UNESCO characterizes the park as a natural wonder, with a cluster of lakes exhibiting unique geological formations and remarkable natural beauty.

Mohammad Khaled Hanafi, however, asserted that visiting the park for sightseeing wasn't mandatory, according to an Afghan news agency. Local religious leaders in Bamiyan indicated that the women not adhering to the rules during their park visits were non-residents of the area.

Sayed Nasrullah Waezi, the head of the Bamiyan Shia Ulema Council, noted that complaints about improper hijab or its absence were linked to visitors from outside the region.

The Band-e-Amir national park ban on women's entry prompted Afghan former MP Mariam Solaimankhil to share a poignant poem on X (formerly Twitter), expressing her conviction that women will eventually regain access.

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Fereshta Abbasi, representing Human Rights Watch, highlighted the irony of the ban falling on Women's Equality Day, emphasizing that it profoundly disrespects Afghan women.

Intriguingly, Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, questioned the necessity of the ban in adhering to Sharia and Afghan culture.

This prohibition adds to the Taliban's history of imposing temporary bans on women, which has included restricting their access to education back in December 2022.

Regrettably, this recent restriction at Band-e-Amir national park joins a growing list of activities from which Afghan women have been barred since the Taliban's resurgence in August 2021. This list includes shutting down hair and beauty salons and preventing women from participating in the national university entrance exams in mid-July.

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