Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August last year, restrictions on the basic rights of women have become a global concern. Now, the 'morality police' of Afghanistan has ordered that women are not allowed to enter amusement parks in Kabul, Reuters reported.
A spokesperson for the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (MPVPV) confirmed that women would be restricted from accessing parks when asked for comment by Reuters, but did not respond to requests to provide further details.
However, it is not clear how widely the restrictions are applied and how they affected a previous rule from the MPVPV saying parks, including open-air spaces, must be segregated by gender and certain days would be aside for women
Reuters witnesses observed that several women were turned away by park officials at a Kabul amusement park. Taliban agents were also present to observe the situation.
A Kabul resident told the agency that she wanted to take her grandchild to the park but was turned away.
"When a mother comes with their children, they must be allowed to enter the park, because these children haven't seen anything good ... they must play and be entertained," she told Reuters. "I urged a lot to them, but they didn't allow us to get inside the park, and now we are returning home."
Two park operators, who asked to remain anonymous to speak on a sensitive matter, said they had been told by Taliban officials not to allow women to enter their parks.
The Taliban had promised women's rights, media freedom, and amnesty for government officials in the group's first news conference after the takeover in August. However, activists, former government employees, and journalists among others continue to face retribution.
Moreover, the violent persecution of the Afghan Shia Hazara goes back more than a century but has reached unprecedented levels in the last year under the Taliban.
The targeting of Hazara houses of worship, schools, and other public places has intensified since the Taliban took control last year. In the last year, the Islamic State of Khorasan has claimed responsibility for 13 attacks against Hazaras.
Approximately 700 people have been killed or injured in these attacks.
