Women in Afghanistan

The Taliban have introduced a new rule restricting Afghan women from hearing each other's voices, an additional step toward erasing women's presence in public life, as reported by the New York Post. Taliban Minister for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, Khalid Hanafi, reportedly decreed that women must not be able to hear one another's voices, even during prayer.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) had ruled Friday that gender and nationality alone were sufficient for a country to grant asylum to women from Afghanistan, where the ruling Taliban have sharply curtailed women's rights.

Since the Taliban returned to power, Afghan women have been barred from going on long trips, travelling by plane or entering government buildings unless they are accompanied by a man.

Under the Taliban government's austere interpretation of Islamic law, the "mahram" practice long rooted in Afghan society has become compulsory.

A 25-year-old Afghan citizen has started working as a shepherd in the eastern province of Tunceli to raise enough bride price to marry his beloved he left behind in his home country.

"I will save money and marry the woman I love until the end of summer in Afghanistan," Abdullah Muhammedi told Demirören News Agency on April 20.

Some women in Afghanistan are determined to resist the Taliban's strict rules as they anticipate that their rights and freedoms will be further confined.

class='cf'>