Taliban stop issuing driving licence to women in Afghanistan

The Taliban, in their latest diktat, have reportedly stopped issuing driving licences to women in Kabul and other provinces of Afghanistan.

The authorities have not released any official statement to confirm the same, but local media reports have claimed that the Taliban have issued verbal orders with regard to the ban.

"We have been verbally instructed to stop issuing licences to women drivers... but not directed to stop women from driving in the city," the head of Herat's Traffic Management Institute told AFP. After the takeover of Afghanistan in August last year, the Taliban had promised they would respect the rights of women "within the limits of Islam," but things on the ground say otherwise.

The reports on the ban on the issuance of licences have been confirmed by the locals as well. A female driving instructor in Herat said that they have also been told not to offer driving lessons to women.

The restrictions on women's movement do not come as a shock because the Taliban had taken the same approach during their rule in the 1990s.

Women are being barred from public places slowly, they are not allowed to get an education, and have been banned from doing most government jobs.

The Taliban have also barred women from boarding flights without a male chaperone. They had also backtracked on the decision to open schools for girls beyond the 6th grade, wrote The Independent.

Women are forbidden from taking inter-city road trips alone, and they can only visit public parks on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays.

The restrictions are not limited to women but Afghan men are also being asked to follow several restrictions. The Afghanistan Taliban have asked all male government employees to wear a beard to office or risk being fired from the job.