As we push our political leaders to significantly increase the number of women in Parliament, it’s important to closely monitor the state of women’s rights under Taliban rule.

The latest strict laws from the Islamist regime further silence women and deepen their repression. On Wednesday, Afghanistan’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice issued new regulations that further limit women’s visibility and voices in public life.

The laws, approved by Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, extend to various aspects of daily life, including public transportation, music, celebrations, and even the act of shaving. Among the most troubling of these regulations is Article 13, which focuses on women. It mandates that women must wear a full-body veil at all times in public, with face coverings deemed necessary to prevent temp tation. The rules prohibit any form of clothing that is thin, tight, or short. Additionally, women must veil themselves even in front of non-Muslim men and women, out of fear of corruption.

Perhaps most concerning is the law’s claim that a woman’s voice is «intimate» and should not be heard in public spaces. Women are now banned from singing, reciting, or reading aloud in public. This effectively erases their presence from Afghan society. They are further forbidden from looking at men to whom they are not related, a prohibition that applies to men as well.

A spokesman for the ministry, Maulvi Abdul Ghafar Farooq, declared that these laws would help promote virtue and eliminate vice. However, these new rules are already contributing to a climate of fear and intimidation, according to a recent United Nations report. The report highlighted the ministry’s expanding role in policing public life, from media oversight to drug enforcement, deepening concerns for the future of Afghan women and girls.

The Taliban’s return to power in August 2021 has proven to be a tragic turning point for Afghanistan. Despite early reassurances of a peaceful transition, fears of a repressive regime have materialized. Afghan security forces, trained and funded by the United States for two decades, failed to prevent the Taliban’s swift takeover, and the international community, particularly the West, was left to grapple with the aftermath of a broken strategy.

The Taliban’s imposition of strict sharia law is visible throughout Afgha nistan’s streets, where women’s faces have disappeared from advertisements and fear pervades homes. Families worry whether their daughters will ever see the inside of a classroom again. The broader geopolitical fallout is just as troubling. As Western nations retreat, regional players like China, Russia, and Iran are stepping in to build diplomatic ties with the new regime.

In the wake of the U.S. withdrawal, many are left wondering how trillions of dollars and 20 years of investment in Afghanistan resulted in the collapse of its government. The return of the Taliban leaves many with a deep sense of unease about the future – not only for Afghanis tan but for the broader region. The rise of the Taliban will require a reassessment of the global political landscape. Afghanistan, once again a theater of repression, drug trafficking, and institutionalized corruption, risks becoming a black hole for security and human rights.

The Taliban, born out of civil war and the Soviet withdrawal, have little regard for state governance. Their only priority is imposing their version of divine law, trampling on the rights of others in the process. The coming days will be grim for Afghanistan’s 40 million people, especially its women and girls, whose voices and presence are fading into silence.