The Taliban has banned residential windows in Afghanistan to prevent women from being seen while they are at home. Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada is responsible for the order which was posted on X as a four-clause decree by a Taliban spokesperson on Saturday.
The decree read that new buildings should not have windows where you can see "the courtyard, kitchen, neighbour's well and other places usually used by women." It added "Seeing women working in kitchens, in courtyards or collecting water from wells can lead to obscene acts."
It also stated that existing buildings with windows that violate the guidelines should have structures built by the owners to obstruct the view into the windows "to avoid nuisances caused to neighbors."
Heather Barr, interim women’s rights deputy director 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 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.”
The Taliban has increasingly taken Afghan women's rights away since they regained power in 2021. They are not allowed to be employed, get educated, be in public spaces, or take part in any sports. They cannot speak in public and must be covered fully from head to toe in clothing, preferably a burka, revealing only their eyes.
