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The Taliban have banned Afghan girls from getting into the capital’s public parks and funfairs, simply months after ordering entry to be segregated by gender.
The brand new rule, launched this week, additional squeezes girls out of an ever-shrinking public area. They’re already banned from travelling with no male escort and compelled to put on a hijab or burqa each time out of the house. Secondary faculties for ladies have additionally been shut for over a yr throughout a lot of the nation.
“For the previous 15 months, we tried our greatest to rearrange and kind it out – and even specified the times,” mentioned Mohammad Akif Sadeq Mohajir, spokesperson for the Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Advantage. “However nonetheless, in some locations – in truth, we should say in lots of locations – the foundations had been violated,” he advised AFP.
“There was mixing [of men and women], hijab was not noticed, that’s why the choice has been taken for now.”
The information was met with dismay by girls and park operators – who’ve invested closely in growing the services.
“There aren’t any faculties, no work … we must always at the least have a spot to have enjoyable,” mentioned one ewoman, who requested to be recognized solely as Wahida, as she watched her kids play in a park by way of the window of an adjoining restaurant. “We’re simply bored and fed-up with being at residence all day, our minds are drained,” she advised AFP.
On the subsequent desk, Raihana, 21, who’s learning Islamic legislation at college, shared her disappointment after arriving on the park to spend the day along with her sisters. “We had been very excited … we’re bored with staying at residence,” she mentioned. “Clearly, in Islam, it’s allowed to exit and go to parks. When you don’t have any freedom in your personal nation, then what does it imply to dwell right here?”
Just a few miles away, the ferris wheel and a lot of the different rides in Zazai Park, which presents a spectacular view of Kabul, have floor to a sudden halt due to an absence of enterprise.
Earlier than this week’s ban, it may accommodate tons of of tourists on days when girls introduced their kids for household gatherings. On Fridays and public holidays, much more individuals would flock to the park – one of many few sights within the metropolis.
On Wednesday, solely a handful of males wandered nonchalantly by way of the advanced.
Habib Jan Zazai, co-developer of the advanced, fears he might have to shut down a enterprise into which he has poured $11m, and which employs greater than 250 individuals. “With out girls, the kids is not going to come alone,” he mentioned.
He feared such edicts would discourage funding by foreigners or Afghans dwelling overseas, in addition to impact income assortment. “A authorities is run by taxes. If an investor just isn’t paying tax, then how can they run?”
Mohammad Tamim, 20, sipping tea within the park throughout a go to from Kandahar, the place he teaches at a madrassa, known as the ban “dangerous information”.
“Each human psychologically must be entertained,” he mentioned. “Muslims should be entertained – particularly after 20 years of battle.”
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