Taliban bans windows overlooking places ‘usually used by women’ to stop women from being seen at home

Afghanistan’s Taliban supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, has issued an order that new residential buildings should be constructed without windows looking onto “places usually used by women” and said that existing windows with such views should be blocked to prevent “obscene acts”.

According to a statement released by the Taliban government spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, new buildings should not have windows through which it is possible to see “the courtyard, kitchen, neighbour’s well and other places usually used by women”.

“Seeing women working in kitchens, in courtyards or collecting water from wells can lead to obscene acts,” according to the decree posted by government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on social media platform X.

Municipal authorities and other relevant departments would have to monitor construction sites to ensure it is not possible to see into neighbours’ homes.

In the event that such windows exist, owners would be encouraged to build a wall or obstruct the view “to avoid nuisances caused to neighbours”, the decree states.

Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, women have been progressively erased from public spaces.

Taliban authorities have banned post-primary education for girls and women, restricted employment and blocked access to parks and other public places.

A recent law even prohibits women from singing or reciting poetry in public under the Taliban government’s ultra-strict application of Islamic law. It also encourages them to “veil” their voices and bodies outside the home.

Some local radio and television stations have also stopped broadcasting female voices.

The Taliban administration claims that Islamic law “guarantees” the rights of Afghan men and women.

Heather Barr, the interim deputy director of women’s rights at Human Rights Watch, told The Independent:

“People have talked about the Taliban metaphorically erasing women, but increasingly, it is not metaphorical at all.

“They have already ordered that women’s voices shouldn’t be heard in public, and now they are essentially stopping women from even looking out of the window.

“They are stopping women from being seen. They are stopping women from seeing the world. It’s a total annihilation of women’s personhood and it is clearly ongoing. We don’t have any idea where this will end.”

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