The Taliban in Afghanistan have adopted new laws they say are meant to "promote virtue and eliminate sin", including bans on women speaking loudly in public and showing their faces outside their homes.
The United Nations (UN) has condemned the new so-called "restrictions on sin and virtue" and expressed concern over their adoption.
A senior UN official warned on Sunday that the new laws offer "a worrying vision for Afghanistan's future".
The law was ratified by Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatul Akunjad.
The Ministry of Morals - formerly known as the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Sin - pointed out that no one in the country is exempt from these laws.
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The new set of laws allows the "mohtasabi" (Taliban morality police) to interfere in the public life of Afghans, which varies from what they wear, how they appear in public to what they eat and drink.
Under the new law, women's votes are also considered a "sin" in public.
The new restrictions state: "Whenever an adult woman leaves her home out of necessity, she is obliged to cover her voice, face and body."
The ministry has already enforced similar morality requirements under Sharia law (Islamic religious law) and says it has detained thousands of people for non-compliance.
Those rules, according to the Taliban, which conform to their interpretation of Sharia law and are enforced by the Ministry of Morals, are based on a 2022 decree by the Taliban's supreme leader and have now been officially signed into law.
What is the law on women?
The law states in detail that women must completely cover their bodies, including their faces, in order to "avoid leading men into temptation and sin".
- A woman must cover her entire body
- A woman must cover her face to avoid "tempting"
- A woman's voice is considered an "awrah" and must not be heard in public. The Arabic word awrah refers to parts of the body that must be covered. An awrah is any part of the body, both male and female, that must not be visible in to the public
- A woman must also not be heard singing or reading aloud, not even from her home
- Women's clothing must not be thin, short or tight
- Women have to hide their body and face from men with whom they are not related by blood or marriage
- Men are also forbidden to look at women's bodies and faces, and the same applies to adult women when they look at men
New restrictions for men
New laws for morality introduce some restrictions for men as well.
They are now required to cover their bodies from the navel to the knees when outside their homes, as these parts of the body are considered "awrah".
Men are not allowed to style their hair in a way that is against Sharia law.
The Taliban have banned barbers in several provinces from shaving or trimming their beards, claiming the edict is in line with Sharia law.
According to the new regulations, beards must be the length of a fist.
The Morality Act also prohibits men from wearing a tie.
Are they mohtasabini?
Mohtasabis are in charge of implementing this law and work in all provinces.
They monitor compliance with the law and bring offenders to justice.
With the passing of the new law, their executive power is stronger than before, especially since they have the full support of the Taliban leader.
They will be able to silence women's voices or music that reaches them from their homes, and ask men to cut or trim their hair if it does not fit within the hairstyle restrictions.
The law also gives the morality police the power to prevent taxi drivers from picking up women who are not accompanied by a close male relative, such as a father or adult brother, or who do not wear a hijab under Sharia law.
Men and women are also not allowed to sit next to each other in a car.
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No photography of living creatures
Under the new law, it is forbidden to make, keep or publish pictures of living things, which can mean something as innocuous as a drawing of a bird, animal or family member.
According to the new rule, buying or selling statues of living beings is also prohibited.
The law also requires morality police to prevent misuse of tape recorders and radios, such as playing music considered "haram" under Sharia law.
Making and watching pictures and movies of living beings is also prohibited.
But in contradiction to the new rules, almost all officials from the Taliban government appeared on camera, among them Muhammad Khaled Hanafi, the minister for the propagation of virtue and prevention of sin.
What are the penalties?
According to the law, if an individual openly commits an "unacceptable act", he will face a range of punishments, which vary from "pointing out God's divine punishment and intimidation" to a fine and imprisonment for up to three days in a public jail.
The adoption of this law was met with numerous criticisms.
Roza Otunbayeva, head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, says:
"After decades of war and in the midst of a dire humanitarian crisis, the Afghan people deserve much more than threats or imprisonment if they happen to be late for prayer, glance at a member of the opposite sex who is not a member of their family, or possess a photograph of a loved one."
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The new rules are not fully implemented yet
The Taliban government imposed a theocratic rule and officially will not deviate from the application of the law for the sake of morality, but in some parts of the country, including the capital Kabul, the law is not applied systematically.
A source from the Ministry of Morals told the BBC that they are working on a framework for implementing the new provisions.
According to that source, once this framework is finalized, the application of the law will become clearer.
However, most of the articles from this law are already implemented throughout the rest of the country.
The Ministry for Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Sin is one of the most active governing bodies in Afghanistan.
The ministry said that last year the moral police temporarily detained more than 13.000 people for not adhering to Sharia law.
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