VOA新闻杂志2024--UN: Taliban Enforcing Restrictions on Single, Unaccompanied Women

UN: Taliban Enforcing Restrictions¹ on Single, Unaccompanied Women

A report from the United Nations says the Taliban are putting more and more restrictions on women in Afghanistan.

The Taliban re-took power in Afghanistan after the United States withdrew from the country in 2021. Taliban leaders said at the time they would permit women to be more involved in work, school and public life than during their previous rule, between 1996 and 2001.

However, the U.N. says the Taliban's Vice² and Virtue³ Ministry⁴ is cracking down on single and unaccompanied women.

In one case, the U.N. notes, the ministry told a woman to get married if she wanted to continue working at a health clinic. The ministry said it was not right for an unmarried woman to have a job.

The restrictions follow a pattern of the Taliban breaking their 2021 promise that life in Afghanistan would be more open to women. Girls are not permitted to continue going to school after sixth grade, for example. Places that cut and style women's hair have been shut down. And women who are not wearing a hijab, the Islamic head covering, have been arrested.

In May of 2022, the Taliban said women should go back to wearing the religious clothing called a burqa. A burqa is a covering that only shows a woman's eyes.

The U.N.'s Assistance Mission in Afghanistan is reporting on the restrictions. The group's latest report centers on restrictions on women who leave home without a male guardian⁵.

There are no official rules about women needing to be accompanied by a male relative. But the Taliban now say women are not permitted to travel a certain distance away from their home without a man who is either their husband or a relative.

The U.N.'s report said three female healthcare workers were held by police in October when they left home without a guardian. They were only released when their families signed a document saying it would not happen again.

In the Paktia province, the Vice and Virtue Ministry stopped women without guardians⁶ from entering health centers starting in December. The men from the ministry are now entering women's health centers to be sure that all women inside are with a male guardian.

The Vice and Virtue Ministry is also known as the Taliban's "morality police." Ministry workers have been going to bus stations, education centers and other public places to make sure women are following their rules. They are looking for women who are not wearing head coverings and stopping buses to make sure women are not traveling without a male family member.

Women are also being arrested for purchasing birth control, which the Taliban have not officially banned.

Zabihullah Mujahid is the spokesman for the Taliban. In a statement, he said the U.N. report is filled with misunderstandings. He said the U.N. is ignoring or criticizing Islamic law, known as Shariah.

Mujahid added that the Islamic government in power in Afghanistan must fully⁷ observe "all aspects of Sharia for both men and women."

Words in This Story

crack down –v. to tighten⁸ restrictions and punish people for breaking rules

vice –n. something seen as bad or immoral⁹ behavior

virtue – n. good behavior or character

pattern – n. a path or instruction that is repeated over time

style – v. to create something in a way that is new or current or fashionable

morality – adj. a belief about what is right and wrong

aspects – n. parts of something, such as life

1 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

4 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

5 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

6 guardians   

监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者

参考例句：

• Farmers should be guardians of the countryside. 农民应是乡村的保卫者。
• The police are guardians of law and order. 警察是法律和秩序的护卫者。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

9 immoral   

adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的

参考例句：

• She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
• It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。