Appalled by Taliban’s new morality law: European Union

Brussels: The European Union on Tuesday said that it is “appalled” by the recent decree issued by the Taliban which imposes severe restrictions on the life of Afghans, especially women. The Taliban-led Afghan government announced last week the ratification of ‘Law on the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice’, with 35 articles detailing significant restrictions on the Afghan population with arbitrary and potentially severe enforcement mechanisms. The so-called law imposes dress codes, notably ordering women to cover their bodies and faces in public. The decree also imposes that the voices of women must not be heard in public, which effectively deprives Afghan women of their fundamental right to freedom of expression.

The statement of the High Representative released on behalf of the EU stated that the decree further extends the power of the Afghan ministry beyond an advisory role as it is now being given a clear mandate to enforce the decree.

“This, together with the restrictions imposed, punishable under Taliban law, violates legal obligations and Treaties to which Afghanistan is a State Party, including by undermining Afghan people’s right to due process,” said EU Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell. 

The EU maintained that it continues to stand by the women and girls of Afghanistan, and by all those in Afghanistan “threatened” by the Taliban.

“This latest decision is another serious blow undermining the rights of Afghan women and girls, which we cannot tolerate. We urge the Taliban to put an end to these systematic and systemic abuses against Afghan women and girls, which may amount to gender persecution, which is a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, to which Afghanistan is a State Party,” Borrell added.

The European Union also made it clear that the decree has created yet another “self-imposed obstacle” to normalised relations and recognition by the international community, to which the Taliban publicly aspire. (IANS)

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