The Taliban has issued a ban on women showing their faces in public under a new law to "combat vice and promote virtue", ratified by the group's supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.
Woman’s voices are deemed intimate and so should not be heard singing, reciting, or reading aloud in public.
The Ministry for Vice and Virtue was created after the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021, two decades after being removed from power.
The Associated Press said it had seen a 114-page document that includes the laws covered by the ministry, featuring 35 articles such as Afghan women's hijab, men's clothing and rules in the media.
They are the first formal declaration of vice and virtue laws in Afghanistan since the takeover.
The ministry's role is to "command the good and forbid the evil in accordance with Sharia and Hanafi jurisprudence," Tolo News reported, citing Ministry of Justice spokesman Barkatullah Rasooli.
Article 13 mentions women's mandatory covering of their faces "for fear of causing temptation".
Women should also keep their voices low "as part of their modesty", the law says, and are prohibited from travelling alone with a male driver without a legal male guardian to accompany them.
Afghan media is under scrutiny as covered by article 17, which entails that disseminated content should comply with Sharia and "should not humiliate or insult Muslims", or "contain images of living beings", Tolo reported.
Men are prohibited from wearing a tie, trimming or shaving their beards to a certain length and "forming friendships and aiding non-believers".
“Inshallah, we assure you that this Islamic law will be of great help in the promotion of virtue and the elimination of vice,” the ministry's spokesman Maulvi Abdul Ghafar Farooq said.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
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Name: Thndr
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
Mazen Abukhater, principal and actuary at global consultancy Mercer, Middle East, says the company’s Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index - which benchmarks 34 pension schemes across the globe to assess their adequacy, sustainability and integrity - included Saudi Arabia for the first time this year to offer a glimpse into the region.
The index highlighted fundamental issues for all 34 countries, such as a rapid ageing population and a low growth / low interest environment putting pressure on expected returns. It also highlighted the increasing popularity around the world of defined contribution schemes.
“Average life expectancy has been increasing by about three years every 10 years. Someone born in 1947 is expected to live until 85 whereas someone born in 2007 is expected to live to 103,” Mr Abukhater told the Mena Pensions Conference.
“Are our systems equipped to handle these kind of life expectancies in the future? If so many people retire at 60, they are going to be in retirement for 43 years – so we need to adapt our retirement age to our changing life expectancy.”
Saudi Arabia came in the middle of Mercer’s ranking with a score of 58.9. The report said the country's index could be raised by improving the minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and increasing the labour force participation rate at older ages as life expectancies rise.
Mr Abukhater said the challenges of an ageing population, increased life expectancy and some individuals relying solely on their government for financial support in their retirement years will put the system under strain.
“To relieve that pressure, governments need to consider whether it is time to switch to a defined contribution scheme so that individuals can supplement their own future with the help of government support,” he said.
