Afghanistan: Women turned away from entering amusement parks following new Taliban policy

Afghan women were turned away from entering the amusement park in the capital Kabul this week following a new policy issued by the Taliban. The latest policy comes amidst concerns about the insurgent group’s increasingly restrictive policies on women and girls.

A spokesperson for the Taliban-backed ministry for the propagation of virtue and prevention of vice confirmed to Reuters that women would be restricted from accessing amusement parks. This followed the incidents of women getting turned away from entering the parks in Afghanistan’s capital.

It remains to be seen whether the new policy was broadly applied or how it affected a previous policy by the ministry that said parks, including open spaces, would be segregated by gender and certain days would be designated for women.

Witnesses for Reuters observed several women being turned away from entering by park officials, with Taliban members present. Two park operators told the outlet that they were told by Taliban officials not to admit women into the parks.

The international community has been calling on the insurgent group to reverse its course on women’s rights in a step toward getting recognized by foreign governments. The Taliban said that they uphold women’s rights but in line with their interpretation of Islamic law.

Since retaking control of Afghanistan in August last year, the Taliban have imposed increasingly restrictive policies on women. Under the group’s leadership, women are not allowed to leave the house without a male relative and must have their faces covered.

Earlier this week, a Polish firm delivered Afghani banknotes to Kabul after the United States helped the Afghan central bank to make a payment to international banking systems. The Afghan central bank has a contract with a Polish firm for the printing of its banknotes but was unable to make a payment

“Afghanistan’s markets run primarily on cash, but existing banknotes are crumbling…The Central Bank will be able to replace old and damaged banknotes and this will improve the Afghan people’s ability to purchase food and other necessary items,” said the spokesperson for the US State Department.

A member of the Afghan Central Bank’s supreme council, Shah Mehrabi, said the assurances to banks and companies by the US Treasury that they would not be persecuted for allowing a transaction to the Afghan central bank was instrumental.