Taliban prohibit women from going to parks and amusement parks in the Afghan capital

After ordering access to be restricted based on gender only a few months ago, the Taliban now forbid Afghan women from visiting the city’s parks and amusement centres.

The new regulation, which was announced this week, further excludes women from the ever-dwindling public sphere. They are already prohibited from travelling alone and are required to wear a burqa or hijab whenever they are outside the house.

In the majority of the nation, schools for teenage females have been closed for more than a year.

Speaking on behalf of the Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue, Mohammad Akif Sadeq Mohajir stated, “For the previous 15 months, we did our best to plan and sort things out — and even specified the days.

But even so, he told AFP late on Wednesday, “the regulations were broken in certain locations—indeed, we must say in many places.”

“The decision has been made for the time being since there was mingling (of men and women) and hijab was not followed.”

Women and park owners, who had spent extensively in building the amenities, were shocked by the revelation.

As she watched her children play at a park from the window of an adjacent restaurant, one mother, who wished to only be known as Wahida, observed, “There are no schools, no employment… we should at least have a place to have fun.”

She told AFP, “We are just bored and tired of staying at home all day. Our thoughts are fatigued.”

After arriving at the park to spend the day with her sisters, Raihana, 21, who is studying Islamic law at the university, revealed her dissatisfaction at the table across from her.

We were overjoyed, she stated, adding that she was sick of being in.

“It is OK to walk outside and visit parks in Islam. What does it mean to live here when there is no freedom in your own country?”

The term “idle attractions”

A few kilometres distant, the majority of the rides at Zazai Park, which gives a breathtaking perspective of the city, including the Ferris wheel, have abruptly stopped operating due to a lack of patronage.

It might have held hundreds of guests on days when ladies brought their kids for family gatherings before this week’s restriction.