The Band-e-Amir park, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a splendor. But women will no longer be able to enjoy this site, popular with families for its magnificent lakes located in the tourist province of Bamyan, in Afghanistan. On Monday, human rights organizations condemned this “cruel” decision.
“Not content with depriving girls and women of education, jobs and freedom of movement, the Taliban also want to take away parks and sports, and now even nature,” blasted Heather Barr, deputy director of women’s rights for the NGO Human Rights Watch. “Step by step, the walls are closing in on women, every home becoming a prison,” she said in a statement.
Wearing a “proper hijab”
“It is also about your ability to experience joy,” she insisted, calling this decision “cruel” and “completely intentional”. The Minister for the Prevention of Vice and the Promotion of Virtue, Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, justified the ban on Saturday during a visit to Bamyan province by the fact that the “wearing of the hijab” (clothing covering the body and head) had not been respected over the past two years.
“We need to take serious action today. We must prevent disrespect of hijab,” he said. “The women and our sisters will no longer be able to go to the Band-e-Amir until we have established guidelines (…). Tourism exists, they can do tourism, but tourism is not compulsory,” he added. “This explanation of the fact that a woman does not wear a correct hijab does not make the slightest sense”, lamented the NGO.
Women’s rights systematically violated
Since their return to power in August 2021, the Taliban government, with its austere interpretation of Islam, has constantly reduced the rights of Afghan women. In two years, secondary schools and then universities closed their doors to women. Parks, sports halls and hammams are also prohibited. Prevented from working for NGOs and excluded from most civil service positions, Afghan women must also cover themselves fully when they leave their homes.
“Can anyone explain why this restriction on women traveling to Band-e-Amir is necessary to comply with Sharia law and Afghan culture? “Questioned on X (ex Twitter), the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett.