by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Three years after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan the ruling Islamic extremist Taliban have passed an expansive new morality law that severely restricts Afghan freedoms, and targets women especially harshly.
Aimed at controlling how citizens should behave in public, the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice late last month issued a 100-page law that includes prohibiting men from wearing western-style clothing – and neckties in particular. The law also “bans any representation of people in published or broadcast material, leading to concerns about how, for instance, identity documents will be used,” NPR said.
The new law goes on to oppress women to an even higher degree than was notorious before. “They may not leave their homes unless it’s urgent,” NPR explained in its report. “There’s no clear definition of “urgent” and presumably, that is decided by patrolling officials from the Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue, whose job it is to enforce this sweeping law. When they do venture outside their homes, they must always have a male guardian,” NPR noted.
“They cannot raise their voices in public. Even if they are speaking in their home, they must not do so in a way that could be overheard by strangers. Also: No laughing. No speaking loudly. No singing. Even in private gatherings.”
However, many Afghani women are refusing to accept this draconian treatment and have taken to the internet to protest – and sing, NPR reports. In one video, Fatima Etimadi, 34, sings: “The flower will unfurl, revealing a spring of freedom,” they chant. “I sing the anthem of freedom, again, again, freedom.”
“Every day, the Taliban seeks new ways to restrict women,” Etimadi told NPR in an interview. “They’re making women die while they’re alive.”
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
In a major legislative triumph for President Donald Trump and House Republicans, the House of Representatives passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” in the early hours of July 3 by a 218-214 vote, sending the sweeping $4.5 trillion package to the president’s desk for signature just ahead of his self-imposed July 4 deadline.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a U.S.-backed Christian-led aid organization, has issued a stark warning following what it calls “credible reports” that Hamas has placed bounties on both American and Palestinian aid workers. Despite the escalating threats, GHF says its mission will continue without fear or compromise.
The Pentagon has paused some shipments of U.S. weapons to Ukraine as part of an internal review to assess the impact on America’s own military stockpiles, Defense Department officials confirmed Wednesday. The move comes as the Trump administration prioritizes recalibrating U.S. defense commitments in light of strategic needs, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.
The U.S. economy added 147,000 jobs in June, beating forecasts of 115,000, while the unemployment rate edged down to 4.1%, according to Labor Department data released July 3. Economists had expected a rise to 4.3%.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to take up two cases in its next term on laws banning transgender women from participating in girls and women’s sports, based on biological sex.
Three leaders of a prominent house church in China’s Shanxi Province have been sentenced to prison on what advocates call baseless fraud charges, highlighting ongoing persecution of unregistered Christian groups under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Dozens of people were feared dead Thursday after a ferry sank and five people died the previous night near Indonesia’s tropical resort island of Bali.