The Taliban has silenced the women of Afghanistan

Three years ago, the Taliban took control of the government of Afghanistan. Since then, its regime has continued to oppress women and girls in their country, as they introduced dozens of rules restricting females’ basic human rights. Last week, the group published a new set of laws to “promote virtue and eliminate vice,” requiring, among other things, that a woman be fully veiled in public at all times, including her face and eyes. They have also silenced the women of the country by prohibiting a woman’s voice from being heard in public spaces.

The Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and Propagation of Virtue published a 114-page, 35-article document detailing the new laws. Article 13 says it is mandatory for a woman to “veil her body at all times in public and that a face covering is essential to avoid temptation and tempting others,” reports the Associated Press . They are also mandated to fully veil themselves in the presence of all male strangers, and all non-Muslims. They are also forbidden from using perfume or make-up.

A woman’s voice, the Taliban decreed, is “intimate,” and therefore women are prohibited from singing, reciting or reading out loud in public. They are also not allowed to laugh loudly , and their laughter should not be heard by men.

Article 17 also bans the publication of images of living beings. Voice of America reports that a Taliban-controlled state broadcaster in Afghanistan “silenced a female journalist and her image during a live media event Tuesday, apparently in compliance with the radical rulers’ recently enacted morality law that bans women from speaking or showing their faces in public.”

The list of new laws also bans the playing of music, the transportation of unaccompanied female travelers, any mixing of men and women not related to each other and prohibits men from shaving, combing their hair, skipping prayers or skipping fasting, reports Reuters.

Penalties for violations included “advice, warnings of divine punishment, verbal threats, confiscation of property, detention for one hour to three days in public jails, and any other punishment deemed appropriate,” according to the Justice Ministry. If those measures fail to “correct” behavior, individuals would be referred to court for further action.

On Sunday, Roza Otunbayeva, who heads the U.N. mission in the country (The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan), issued a statement calling the new laws “a distressing vision for Afghanistan’s future,” one that “extends the already intolerable restrictions on the rights of Afghan women and girls, with even the sound of a female voice outside the home apparently deemed a moral violation.”

Zabihullah Mujahid, the main spokesman for the Taliban’s government, issued a statement warning against “arrogance” from those who he said may not be familiar with Islamic law, particularly non-Muslims who might express reservations or objections.

“We urge a thorough understanding of these laws and a respectful acknowledgment of Islamic values. To reject these laws without such understanding is, in our view, an expression of arrogance,” he said, according to the Associated Press .

Prior to the new “vice and virtue” laws, women and girls were already blocked from attending school beyond sixth grade, depriving 1.4 million girls of an education. Women are also banned from almost every form of paid employment, including working with nongovernmental organizations ; prevented from walking in public parks, attending gyms or visiting beauty salons; and were already required to comply with a strict dress code . Earlier this year, the Taliban also announced the reintroduction of the public flogging and stoning of women for adultery.

Genocide Watch reports hundreds of cases of femicide in Afghanistan since the Taliban took over, and reports they are just the “tip of the iceberg” when it comes to the true scale of gender-based violence in the country. Undeterred by international alarm and criticism about “gender apartheid,” Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada said last year that Afghan women are provided with a “ comfortable and prosperous ” life.