Why Taliban has banned windows overlooking women’s spaces

The Taliban’s ongoing restrictions on Afghan women and girls continue to dominate headlines.

In their latest move, the construction of windows in residential buildings overlooking areas used by Afghan women will be prohibited.

Why? The reason is as bizarre as the move itself.

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Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid explained in a statement on X, “Seeing women working in kitchens, in courtyards or collecting water from wells can lead to obscene acts.”

Since the Taliban’s return to power three years ago, Afghan women have been excluded from almost every sphere of public life, including schools, universities, most workplaces - and even parks and bathhouses.

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The latest ban

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Taliban administration announced that new buildings must not have windows that allow visibility into “the courtyard, kitchen, neighbour’s well and other places usually used by women.”

Zabihullah Mujahid said that seeing women working in kitchens or collecting water from wells could lead to obscene acts.

The decree further mandates that municipal authorities and other relevant departments oversee construction to ensure homes do not have windows providing views into neighbours’ properties.

If such windows exist, property owners are advised to construct walls or block the view “to avoid nuisances caused to neighbours,” as specified in the order.

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Since regaining control of Afghanistan, the Taliban have enforced extensive restrictions, particularly targeting women. Despite these measures, the administration maintains that Islamic law “guarantees” the rights of both Afghan men and women.

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What are the other restrictions?

After their return to power in 2021, the Taliban established the Ministry for the “Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.” In August, the Ministry released its vice and virtue laws, addressing public transport, music, shaving, and celebrations.

Outlined in a 114-page, 35-article document, the Ministry oversees personal behaviour and issues punishments such as warnings or arrests when Afghans are accused of breaking these laws.

According to the document, women are required to veil their bodies in public at all times, with face coverings considered essential to prevent ‘temptation or tempting others’. Clothing must not be thin, tight, or short.

The rules further mandate that women veil themselves before all male strangers, including Muslims, and all non-Muslims to avoid ‘corruption’. Women are also prohibited from looking at men who are not their close relatives and vice-versa.

In October this year, a Taliban minister announced that Afghan women are forbidden from praying loudly or reciting the Quran in front of other women. Vice and Virtue Minister Khalid Hanafi stated, “It is prohibited for a grown woman to recite Quranic verses or perform recitations in front of another grown woman. Even chants of takbir (Allahu Akbar) are not permitted.”

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Since its creation, the Ministry has implemented decrees disproportionately affecting women and girls, including dress codes, segregated education and employment, and the requirement of a male guardian for travel.

In August this year, supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada approved bans on women’s voices and bare faces in public.

Article 17 of the document prohibits the publication of images of living beings, adding further strain to Afghanistan’s already fragile media sector.

Article 19 forbids the playing of music, the transportation of solo female travellers, and the mixing of unrelated men and women. The law also mandates that passengers and drivers perform prayers at designated times.

Notably, some local radio and television stations have stopped broadcasting female voices altogether.

Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, at least 1.4 million Afghan girls have been denied access to secondary education, placing an entire generation’s future “in jeopardy,” according to UNESCO. Afghanistan remains the only country in the world where girls and women are barred from attending secondary schools and universities.

The number of primary school students has also declined. In 2022, only 5.7 million boys and girls were enrolled in primary education, down from 6.8 million in 2019. UNESCO blamed this drop to the ban on female teachers teaching boys and the lack of motivation for parents to send their children to school.

Women banned from midwifery and nursing courses?

Earlier this month, several women training as midwives and nurses in Afghanistan told BBC that they were ordered not to return to classes the following morning. This directive effectively shut down their last opportunity for higher education in the country.

Five training institutions across Afghanistan also told the British broadcaster that they received instructions from the Taliban to close until further notice. Videos shared online showed students in tears upon hearing the news.

Although the official decree has not been made public, media reports indicate that the decision was announced during a meeting of the Taliban public health ministry and later communicated to training institutes.

Midwifery and nursing were among the few career options available to women under the Taliban’s restrictions as male medics cannot treat women without a male guardian being present.

The ban is particularly alarming given Afghanistan’s severe maternal health crisis. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the country has one of the highest maternal mortality rates globally, with 620 women dying per 100,000 live births, it said in a report last year.

Human rights protected, nobody faces discrimination: Taliban

In September, Australia, Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands announced legal proceedings against the Taliban for violating a UN convention on women, to which Afghanistan is a party.

Despite their promises of moderate governance after seizing power in 2021, the Taliban have restricted women and girls from various aspects of daily life. Over 20 countries expressed their support for the proposed legal action, stating, “We condemn the gross and systematic human rights violations and abuses in Afghanistan, particularly the gender-based discrimination against women and girls.”

Taliban deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat dismissed the allegations, claiming that human rights were protected in Afghanistan and no discrimination existed.

“Unfortunately, an attempt is being made to spread propaganda against Afghanistan through the mouths of several fugitive (Afghan) women and misrepresent the situation,” Fitrat said on X.

“It is absurd to accuse the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan of violating human rights and gender discrimination.”

The Taliban reject all criticism of their policies, especially those affecting women and girls, labelling it interference. They state that their actions align with their interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia.

With inputs from agencies