RASC News Agency: While the Taliban group has faced persistent allegations of engaging in discriminatory and repressive practices against women and various ethnic and religious minorities, the Minister of propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice within the group recently asserted that there exists no discrimination in the Taliban’s policies. As per a press release issued by the Ministry of Virtue and Prevention of Vice of the Taliban on Sunday, January 6, Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, the minister of this ministry, made this statement during a meeting with certain Shia scholars.
The press release noted that individuals such as Madar Ali Karimi, Sharif Balkhabi, and Sayed Sufi Gardizi spoke on behalf of others during this meeting. Madar Ali Karimi, a member of the Taliban, holds the position of deputy minister of urban development within the group. Similarly, Sufi Gardizi maintains close ties with the Taliban, and Sharif Balkhabi is among the members of a commission established by the Taliban to address Shia-related issues. According to the press release, they conveyed to the Minister of Virtue and Prevention of Vice of the Taliban that by swearing allegiance to the Taliban leader, any activity against the Taliban is deemed “forbidden,” and they emphasized that individuals opposing the Taliban outside Afghanistan do not represent the Afghanistani people.
These assertions emerge from the Ministry of propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice of the Taliban precisely at a time when the group faces accusations of “gender apartheid” due to the systematic exclusion of women from various facets of society. Despite branding their policies as non-discriminatory, women living under the influence of this group’s regime encounter prohibitions on education, employment, travel, sports activities, visiting parks, and dining at restaurants.
