The Taliban governor for Bamiyan province, Abdullah Sarhadi said Wednesday that certain places in Band-e-Amir national park will be allocated for women next year.
Speaking to the RTA, a state media outlet, he claimed that the decision to ban women from visiting Band-e-Amir was because many were not observing the Hijab.
“Women who had been coming to Band-e-Amir, were not observing Hijab,” he said.
Last month, the Taliban’s acting minister of vice and virtue, Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, ordered women to be prevented from visiting the park.
The decision to ban women sparked widespread reactions both at home and abroad.
The Taliban governor for Bamiyan said that once the areas have been demarcated, the workers and guards at Band-e-Amir will all be female.
The residents of Bamiyan and Afghans across the country were quick to criticize the Taliban for having imposed the ban.
The UN Special Rapporteur for Afghanistan, Richard Bennett also asked for an explanation about restricting women from Band-e-Amir.
“Can someone please explain why this restriction on women visiting Bande Amir is necessary to comply with Sharia and Afghan culture?,” Bennett asked on X, formerly Twitter.
