No trips for Afghan women unless escorted by male relative -Taliban

AFGHANISTAN: Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities said Sunday that women seeking to travel anything other than short distances should not be offered transport unless they are accompanied by a close male relative.

The guidance, issued by the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, also called on all vehicle owners to offer rides only to those women wearing Islamic hijabs.

“Women travelling for more than 45 miles (72 kilometres) should not be offered a ride if they are not accompanied by a close family member,” ministry spokesman Sadeq Akif Muhajir said on Sunday, specifying that it must be a close male relative.

The guidance, circulated on social media networks, comes weeks after the ministry asked Afghanistan’s television channels to stop showing dramas and soap operas featuring women actors. The Ministry had also called on women TV journalists to wear hijabs while presenting and also asked people to stop playing music in their vehicles. Meanwhile, Taliban authorities in Afghanistan on Sunday gave new guidance to taxi drivers, advising them against taking fares from women who do not follow a strict Islamic dress code by wearing the hijab, or Islamic headscarf.

The Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice also told drivers they should not take women who wish to travel more than 72 kilometers (45 miles) without a male relative as a chaperone.

– THE HINDUSTAN TIMES