Taliban enforces new restriction silencing Afghan women, banning speaking or praying aloud.

The Taliban has imposed yet another oppressive restriction on Afghan women: a ban on speaking or praying aloud, whether in public or in private. Women are now prohibited from any vocal expression that could be heard by other women, even within their own homes. This mandate, issued by the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, extends to reciting the Quran and voicing common phrases central to Islamic faith, stripping women of basic freedoms to communicate and practice their religion audibly.