RASC News Agency: Angelina Jolie, the acclaimed actress, has denounced the Taliban as “cowardly and oppressive” in response to their latest legislation. In a statement on her Instagram account, Jolie remarked, “A regime that criminalizes the presence, voice, and agency of women is cowardly and oppressive.”
Jolie’s comments were prompted by the new law enacted by the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, signed by the group’s leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada. This legislation, consisting of 114 pages and 35 articles, introduces severe restrictions, particularly targeting women in Afghanistan, and grants significant powers to the ministry’s enforcers.
According to the law, a woman’s voice is classified as “awrah,” meaning it is considered a source of shame, and it mandates that their voices should not be heard, while their faces and bodies must be fully covered. The decree stipulates that this law will be enforced across all Afghan territories in accordance with Sharia and the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence. The law further empowers the enforcers, granting them authority parallel to that of the Taliban’s executive and judicial branches, including the ability to detain and imprison individuals.
Jolie’s condemnation of the Taliban’s blatant violation of Afghanistani women’s fundamental rights comes at a time when the international community, numerous countries, and the people of Afghanistan have been increasingly vocal in opposing and condemning the Taliban’s oppressive laws.
