in Herat, Afghanistan | Ban women in restaurants with gardens

A new ban on Afghan women and families. In the city of Herat, they are now banned from entering restaurants with gardens to avoid mixing of the sexes in public. Few landmarks.

What is happening in Herat?

Since Monday, the Taliban authorities have decided to ban restaurants with gardens or green spaces for women and families, following complaints from religious scholars and members of the public about the mixing of the sexes in public places. According to the same complainants, the women there do not wear the hijab or Islamic headscarf properly.

Ah good ! Taliban reaction to complaints?

join Journalism In Vancouver, Lauren Oates, executive director of the Canadian Women’s Organization for Women in Afghanistan, makes this argument. “The reason given by the Taliban is a tactic they use every time they want to implement new rules,” she said. Every day a new rule is added. It is part of a pattern of erasing women from public spaces. »

What other rules have been adopted?

When they returned to power on August 15, 2021, the Taliban expressed their intentions to open up in order to build international credibility. But as of September 2021, the right to education for girls 12 years of age or older has been suspended. In December 2022, women are prohibited from entering universities. Since December 24, 2022, they can no longer work with NGOs. They can no longer work at the United Nations for a few days. They are also prohibited from entering public spaces, bathrooms and training rooms. In Herat, too, we stopped issuing driver’s licenses to them.

Is this ban in restaurants the first?

no. On May 12, 2022, messages from Herat indicated that the Taliban authorities prohibited men and women from eating together in restaurants, including couples. The guidance came from the Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. But three days later, the Taliban regime denied the news and said men and women could eat together again.

Why is Herat in a hot seat?

Because the city is considered progressive within this country with a very conservative system. Herat is a densely populated and influential province. Elsewhere, in Afghanistan, we’re looking at what’s happening there, says Lauren Oates. It is an educated province, close to Iran, with several girls’ schools. Perhaps because of this liberal culture, the Taliban wanted to subjugate the people. »

Are the rules the same everywhere in the country?

No, M answers.^I Oats. The Taliban are not used to ruling. Their way of doing things is inconsistent and distracting. In Ghor province, which is adjacent to Herat, we do not want and are hostile to NGOs. Whereas in other provinces they are required to be there to set up programs and we will give them police assistance. However, power is in the hands of the Taliban in Kandahar, who are the most conservative. »

And what about the rules in restaurants outside Herat?

First, there are few restaurants, because the majority of people are very poor, Lauren Oates recalls. “Many of them closed their doors,” she said. Among those still open, Variety is the exception, either because we follow the rules dictated by Kandahar or simply because the owners enforce them themselves. A recent article by The New York Times He points to a popular restaurant in Kabul where men and women eat on separate floors. In February, Afghan entrepreneur Samira Mohammadi also attracted attention with her restaurant Wawa in Kabul, which is open only to women and where all employees are women. M^I The Mohammedans hired many orphaned, widowed and penniless women.

What about other places in the Islamic world?

On Sunday, December 8, 2019, the Saudi Ministry of Municipalities and Rural Affairs announced that the country is ending an ancient tradition of separating men and women at the entrances to rural restaurants and cafes. This facilitation was part of the reform initiatives launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.