The Taliban’s for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, has declared it forbidden for adult women to allow their voices to be heard by other adult women, a restriction that adds to the mounting limitations on women’s lives in Afghanistan.

Amu TV reported on October 26 that in a recent audio statement, Hanafi, who is blacklisted by the United Nations and sanctioned by the European Union, emphasized that adult women must refrain from performing Takbir—an Islamic prayer—or reciting the Quran aloud in the presence of other women. The directive has incited strong backlash, with Afghan women calling for the defense of their rights amid what many view as extreme and oppressive policies.

“I have been working in clinics in remote areas for eight years, but in these last two months, the Taliban’s oversight has intensified,” said Samira, a midwife in Herat, according to Amu TV.  She reportedly described how Taliban officials now forbid female healthcare workers from meeting with male companions of female patients, limiting their ability to provide care. “

New rules of the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice reportedly demand that women cover all parts of their bodies, including their faces, and now restrict their voices even within the home.  Mr. Hanafi reiterated in his statement that women should not recite Quranic verses or prayers aloud, claiming, “If a woman is not permitted to perform Takbir, then how could she be allowed to sing?”

TOLO News reported Sunday evening that in a public gathering in Logar province, Hanafi stressed that a woman’s loud voice in mixed-gender gatherings is considered inappropriate.

Mohammad Khalid Hanafi reportedly stated that he is committed to enforcing the ministry's law and will implement it gradually.

Afghan women and rights advocates have reportedly condemned these measures, describing them as part of a broader “misogynistic” policy that restricts women’s ability to move, work, and even speak freely. “How are women who are the sole providers for their families supposed to buy bread, seek medical care, or simply exist if even their voices are forbidden?” said a women’s rights activist, according to Amu TV.  “These orders immobilize women and have made life exhausting for all of us,” she added.

The Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, widely considered the force behind the group’s restrictive policies, has come under scrutiny from the international community. The United Nations and human rights organizations have sharply criticized the Taliban’s systematic rollbacks on women’s rights, which have left Afghan women with severely limited freedoms.

In keeping with its regulations, the ministry has even banned the release of visual images showing any living beings, including in official broadcasts.

The Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice is the state agency in charge of implementing Islamic law in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan as defined by the Taliban.  It was first instituted in 1992 by the Rabbani government of the Islamic State of Afghanistan and adopted in 1996 by the Taliban government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan of 1996–2001.  The ministry was restored in the reinstated Islamic Emirate in September 2021 after the August fall of Kabul.