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.
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
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Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
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Sector: FinTech
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LA LIGA FIXTURES
Thursday (All UAE kick-off times)
Sevilla v Real Betis (midnight)
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The biog
Favourite food: Fish and seafood
Favourite hobby: Socialising with friends
Favourite quote: You only get out what you put in!
Favourite country to visit: Italy
Favourite film: Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Family: We all have one!
