In a continuation of recent arrests by the Taliban’s morality police, seven men and one woman were detained on Monday in Logar Province on charges of “moral corruption” and “illicit relationship.”
According to a statement from the Taliban’s vice and virtue ministry, these individuals were detained in the Qala Shah Ghasi area of Baraki Barak district.
Since October 30, Taliban’s morality police have detained 18 individuals on similar charges across the provinces of Kabul, Kandahar, and Farah.
Taliban did not provide details about the identities of those detained on Monday.
The arrests align with the Taliban’s strict social codes introduced in their new morality law in August, which expanded powers for the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue, allowing officials to carry out punishments, including imprisonment, for those deemed to be violating moral laws.
A key provision of this law restricts women’s voices and appearances outside their homes, among other regulations.
The law mandates that women must cover their entire bodies, including their faces, in public, citing the need to prevent “moral disturbances.” Article 13 further states that a woman’s voice is “considered indecent,” and prohibits women from singing, reciting, or even speaking loudly in public.
The regulations extend to interactions between men and women, forbidding adult men from gazing at women and vice versa. Article 8 specifies that women who leave their homes for essential needs must cover their faces, voices, and bodies. Taliban enforcers are authorized to detain and penalize women who do not comply with these regulations.
The law has sparked international and domestic backlash, yet Taliban leaders continue to assert the importance of enforcing these rules as part of their interpretation of Islamic law.
