The Daily Populous Wednesday August 28th, 2024 morning edition
Authored by telegraph.co.uk and submitted by TheTelegraph

Afghan women have been uploading videos of themselves singing in defiance of draconian laws imposed by the Taliban which order them to be silent in public.

Women from inside and outside the country have joined in the campaign challenging the Taliban’s new so-called vice and virtue laws, which include bans on women from baring their faces, singing and talking in public.

In one video, a woman in Afghanistan sings with her face and body fully covered.

“You placed the stamp of silence on my mouth until further notice,” she says.

“You will [not] provide me with bread and food until further notice, you’ve imprisoned me inside the house for the crime of being a woman.”

The lyrics appear to reference restrictions the Taliban imposed on the basic rights and freedoms of women and girls shortly after seizing back control of the country three years ago.

Among the rules was a ban on school attendance and higher education, which, they said, would last “until further notice”.

gc11117 on August 27th, 2024 at 18:33 UTC »

I deployed to Afghanistan as a combat advisor and trainer. We should have trained the women instead.

wish1977 on August 27th, 2024 at 17:49 UTC »

What a horrible country this would be to live in.

TheTelegraph on August 27th, 2024 at 17:44 UTC »

From The Telegraph's Akhtar Makoii:

Afghan women have been uploading videos of themselves singing in defiance of draconian laws imposed by the Taliban which order them to be silent in public.

Women from inside and outside the country have joined in the campaign challenging the Taliban’s new so-called vice and virtue laws, which include bans on women from baring their faces, singing and talking in public.

In one video, a woman in Afghanistan sings with her face and body fully covered.

“You placed the stamp of silence on my mouth until further notice,” she says.

“You will [not] provide me with bread and food until further notice, you’ve imprisoned me inside the house for the crime of being a woman.”

The lyrics appear to reference restrictions the Taliban imposed on the basic rights and freedoms of women and girls shortly after seizing back control of the country three years ago.

Among the rules was a ban on school attendance and higher education, which, they said, would last “until further notice”.

In another clip, a woman who left Afghanistan for Germany after the Taliban’s return to power sings about the role of women in shaping history.

“If I don’t exist, who are you? Where are the true men among you? Without Ameneh and Rudabeh, where would Mohammad, Rostam, and Sohrab be?” she sings, referring to the mothers of the Prophet of Islam and famous male figures from Persian literature.

On Wednesday, the Taliban issued the country’s first vice and virtue restrictions, requiring a woman to conceal her face, body and voice outside the home.

Women cannot sing or recite the Koran in public, and their clothing must not be thin, tight, or short. They have also been ordered not to speak loudly inside their homes in case their voices are heard outside.

Online videos showing women defying the orders have emerged not only in Afghanistan but in other parts of South Asia and Europe too.

On Tuesday, Volker Turk, the United Nations human rights chief, called on the Taliban to immediately repeal the “egregious” laws, which he said were attempting to turn women into shadows.

‘They cannot silence our voices’

Roza Otunbayeva, the head of the UN’s Afghanistan mission, said the restrictions provided a “distressing vision” for Afghanistan’s future.

Dr Zahra Haqparast, a Germany-based women’s activist who started a campaign against the new laws, told The Telegraph they were “the final bullet to the forehead of Afghan women.”

“I started the campaign, and soon many more protesting girls joined,” she said. “The Taliban should face sanctions, the world must not negotiate with them.

“They should be put on trial for stripping women of all freedoms and condemning women to death by stoning,” the founder of Unity and Solidarity of Afghan Women, an activist group, added.

Article Link: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/08/27/watch-afghan-women-defy-taliban-by-singing-in-public/