Women and girls banned from visiting “Band-e-Amir” in Bamyan
Bayan News – The Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice of the Islamic Emirate has announced that tourism and recreation for women and girls to Band-e-Amir, Bamyan province, are now prohibited.
Khalid Hanafi, the head of the ministry who recently traveled to Bamyan, stated in a press conference in the province on Sunday, August 26th, that women and girls have not observed the hijab (Islamic dress code) during the past two years.
He expressed that both the people and the leaders of the Islamic Emirate demand the observance of hijab by women and girls, and all women must comply with this demand.
Hanafi added, “Don’t promote the idea that women are being confined. We have experienced it for two years. Trial and error have been tested. During these two years, no one has taken action, and after that, women and sisters cannot go to Band-e-Amir.”
The head of the Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice emphasized that the elders and religious scholars should cooperate in establishing guidelines for women’s recreation and tourism to Band-e-Amir.
He further stated, “Tourism and recreation are neither obligatory nor mandatory.”
However, during the past two years, the interim government in Kabul has imposed serious restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan.
The deprivation of girls’ education, the prohibition of women’s work, and the restriction on leisure and free movement are some of the limitations imposed on women during the past two years.