In Afghanistan, the Taliban government banned women from visiting the country's first national park, Band-e-Amir in the Bamiyan province because they were not adhering to hijab rules inside the park.
According to the BBC, acting minister of virtue and vice, Mohammad Khaled Hanafi, called for religious clerics and security agencies to keep women from entering the park until they could find a solution.
In a statement to Tolo News, Hanafi said, "Women and our sisters cannot go to Band-e-Amir until we agree on a principle. The security agencies, elders, and the inspectors should take action in this regard. Going for sightseeing is not obligatory."
The Band-e-Amir National Park was established as the country's first national park in 2009 and has become a popular tourist spot in the region, but a ban on women from entering could prevent many from enjoying the park.
Religious leaders said that those who are breaking the rules are not from the area. Head of the Bamiyan Shia Ulema Council, Sayed Nasrullah Waezi said, "There are complaints about the lack of hijab or bad hijab, these are not Bamiyan residents. They come here from other places, from other provinces or outside of Afghanistan."
In a post on X, Afghanistan researcher with the Human Rights Watch, Fereshta Abbasi pointed out that the order was issued on Women's Equality Day. She said, "On Women’s Equality Day, The Taliban has now issued a new order; Women can't visit Bande Amir."
"This magnificent place in Bamiyan province of Afghanistan, the city of peace and love. This is a total disrespect to the women of Afghanistan. Awful," Abbasi added.
UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan Richard Bennett questioned, "Can someone please explain why this restriction on women visiting Bande Amir is necessary to comply with Sharia and Afghan culture?"
As the United States withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban took over and implemented strict rules against women and girls in the country in accordance with Sharia Law.
In December, the Taliban prohibited women from attending universities without explanation. It previously began banning women from showing their face, other than their eyes, "in order to avoid provocation when meeting men who are not mahram [close relatives permitted to see a woman's face under the Taliban's interpretation of Sharia]."
