Taliban minister’s comments sparks outrage over “women’s voice ban”

On 26 October 2024, the Taliban’s Ministry of the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (MoPVPV) posted a two-minute audio clip from acting Minister Sheikh Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, dated 24 October, on its official X account (formerly Twitter). The post included the question: "In which situations is the voice of women considered awrah (forbidden)"?

Referring to Clause 3 of Article 13 in the Taliban’s Law on Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (PVPV Law, announced on 21 August 2024), Minister Hanafi notes that the law explicitly states women are forbidden from loud recitations, singing nasheeds (Islamic vocal songs or chants), and performing songs. 

He further says: "When an adult woman is praying, and another adult woman crosses in front of her, she should not say 'Alhamdulillah' ( “Glory be to God”) or 'Subhanallah' (“Praise be to God”) [to signal her to stop, as it is not permitted in Islam to walk past in front of someone who is praying]. Instead, she should clap her right hand against her left". 

He concludes: "As women are not permitted to recite the takbir (the phrase “Allahu Akbar”, or “God is Great”) or to call the azan (the call to prayer), how can singing be allowed for them [in a public setting]"? In the remainder of his speech, Hanafi emphasised that the implementation of the PVPV Law would be gradual.

Various Afghan media outlets based abroad, such as Afghanistan International, Afghanistan Times and Amu TV, along with international outlets including The Independent and The Telegraph, reported on Hanafi’s remarks. 

AW, however, observed that some media outlets misinterpreted remarks in their coverage as new restrictions, when he was actually only commenting on the PVPV Law’s implementation. The remarks were also widely misinterpreted as restricting women from speaking to each other out loud, which is not the case: the restrictions specifically concern singing and religious recitation.

Afghan women and women's rights activists widely condemned the acting minister’s remarks. Some X accounts also responded by posting video clips of women singing, and used the hashtag #صدای_من_عورت_نیست, (“My voice is not forbidden”).

On 26 October, former Afghan Member of Parliament Mariam Solimankhil responded on X (94,000 followers): “I guess the ‘new and improved’ version of Taliban rule just means more creative ways to oppress women”. 

Fawzia Koofi, women’s rights activist and former Afghan lawmaker, shared on X (565,000 followers) a photo of acting Minister Hanafi along with a report on his remarks, commenting: “Ban is the nick name of this guy. Every day a new Ban. Day will come soon that he will be banned”. Lina Rozbih, a female prominent Afghan journalist with over 418,000 followers on X, wrote: “The Taliban have banned women from talking to each other… The world must address the struggles of Afghan women”.

Nayera Kohistani, a women rights activist who was reportedly imprisoned by the Taliban before leaving Afghanistan in March 2022, posted a video of herself singing in protest. An anti-Taliban account on X with over 4,000 followers posted a video showing a Kabul street with women heard singing in the background, performing the anthem of the former anti-Taliban Northern Alliance. Both posts included the hashtag of “My voice is not forbidden”. Several other posts also used the same hashtag.

While pro-Taliban accounts largely remained silent on Hanafi's remarks, the Women’s Council of the anti-Taliban National Resistance Front condemned the comments as indicative of the Taliban’s “deep ignorance and dark mindedness”.

Remarks

The Taliban acting minister's remarks on women’s voices were meant to clarify a clause in the PVPV Law, which introduced sweeping further restrictions on the already heavily curtailed rights of women and girls in Afghanistan when it was introduced in August 2024. 

Despite this, several media outlets and social media users misinterpreted or misrepresented the remarks as a new set of restrictions on women, while often also failing to specify the context (that is, that acting Minister Hanafi was referring to prayers and singing). 

The remarks triggered an outraged response by women rights activists and others on social media, who posted videos of women singing in defiance using the hashtag “My voice is not forbidden”. This wave of reactions highlights the continued resilience of Afghan women and their commitment to challenging restrictions on their rights.