Officials from the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice hold a news conference in Kabul on August 20, 2024. (Taliban government's media and information center)
August 26, 2024
Kabul- The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) is deeply concerned about the implementation of the Taliban government's new vice and virtue laws, which imposes new restrictions on the publication of media content, including a ban on images of living beings.
Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada signed the bill for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice into law on July 31. However, the news was not made public until August 21, when it was published in the Ministry of Justice's official gazette and on the ministry’s website.
The law empowers the Taliban's Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice to enforce these rules across Afghanistan, granting "extensive powers" to the ministry’s morality police. The law outlines penalties that include warnings and imprisonment for offenders ranging from one hour to three days. Additionally, it allows for property seizure as a penalty, if the offenders not corrected, will be reffered to the to the court, said Barakatullah Rasuli, spokesperson for the ministry in a statement.
The 35-article document is the first formal declaration of vice and virtue laws in Afghanistan since the Taliban took power in August 2021. Following their takeover, the Taliban established a ministry dedicated to the propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice.
Article 17 of the law mandates that the morality police compel media officials to prevent the publication of content considered contrary to Sharia, as well as any material that humiliates or insults Muslims. These provisions are ambiguous and subject to varying interpretations, potentially leading to further suppression of free media and journalists. The article also mandates that the morality police prevent the publication of images of living beings.
Furthermore, Article 29 states that the morality police are to prevent the misuse of tape recorders, radios, and similar devices, as well as the unauthorized taking or viewing of photographs and videos depicting living beings on computers and mobile phones. This article also stipulates that a woman's voice should not be heard singing, reciting poetry, or reading aloud in public and men are prohibited from wearing ties.
AFJC voices serious concerns regarding the impact of the vice law on the work of media professionals and journalists, particularly women working in media in Afghanistan. The new restrictions represent a continuation of the ongoing suppression of free media that began following the Taliban's return to power in mid-August 2021 and have since been enforced through various media directives. These restrictions contradict the country's mass media law, which the Taliban government has selectively acknowledged.
AFJC calls on the Taliban government to reconsider the law and its policies towards the media and to allow journalists and media outlets in Afghanistan to exercise their rights in accordance with the Media Law.