Women in Afghanistan are not forbidden from speaking to one another, the Taliban government's morality ministry told AFP on November 9, denying recent media reports of a ban. Afghan media based outside the country and international outlets have in recent weeks reported a ban on women hearing other women's voices, based on an audio recording of the head of the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, about rules of prayer. Ministry spokesman Saiful Islam Khyber said the reports were "brainless" and "illogical," in a voice recording confirmed by AFP.
Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe, click here . I'm Abubakar Siddique, senior correspondent at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi.
Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm watching in the days ahead. The Key Issue The unrecognized Taliban government in Afghanistan said it wants to open a “new chapter” with the United States following Donald Trump’s victory in the November 5 presidential election. In a statement, the Taliban’s Foreign Ministry said it hoped the “upcoming U.
S. administration will take realistic steps to foster tangible progress in the relationship between the two countries.” During his first stint in power from 2017 to 2021, the Trump administration signed a deal with the Taliban that paved the way for the complete withdrawal of U.
S. forces from Afghanistan. The agreement ended America’s longe.
