Afghan women fear going out alone due to Taliban decrees on clothing and male guardians, UN says
Afghan women feel scared or unsafe leaving their home alone because of Taliban decrees and enforcement campaigns on clothing and male guardians, according to a report from the UN mission in Afghanistan. The report was issued days before a UN-convened meeting in the Qatari capital Doha, where member states and special envoys to Afghanistan are expected to discuss engagement with the Taliban.
The Taliban have barred women from most areas of public life and stopped girls from going to school beyond the sixth grade as part of harsh measures they imposed after taking power in 2021.
They are also restricting women's access to work, travel and health care if they are unmarried or don't have a male guardian, and arresting those who don't comply with the Taliban's interpretation of hijab, or Islamic headscarf.
The UN mission's report, published Friday, said the decrees are being enforced through arrest, harassment and intimidation. Women said they increasingly fear going to public spaces owing to the threat arrest and the «long-lasting stigma and shame» associated with being taken into police custody.
Over half of the women interviewed for the report felt unsafe leaving the house without a male guardian, or mahram. Risks to their security and their anxiety levels worsened whenever a new decree was announced specifically targeting them, the report said.
Women who went out with a mahram felt safer, but noted the stress from depending on another person to
