KABUL: The Taliban’s morality ministry has dismissed more than 280 members of the security force for failure to grow a beard and have detained more than 13,000 people in Afghanistan for “immoral acts” in the past year, officials said on Tuesday.
The Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and Propagation of Virtue said in its annual operations update that around half of those detained had been let go after 24 hours. It did not break down the type of the alleged offenses or gender of the detainees.
Mohibullah Mokhlis, Director of Planning and Legislation at the ministry, told a press conference officials had destroyed 21,328 musical instruments in the past year and prevented thousands of computer operators from selling “immoral and unethical” films in markets.
It had identified 281 security force members for not having a beard and they had been dismissed, he said, in line with their interpretation of Islamic law.
The morality ministry, which took over the disbanded women’s ministry premises in Kabul after the Taliban took over in 2021, has been criticized by human rights organizations and the United Nations for restrictions on women and inhibiting freedom of expression.
The United Nations’ mission to Afghanistan has reported cases of morality ministry officials stopping and detaining women, at times for a few hours, for not meeting their interpretation of Islamic dress.
The Taliban has called the allegations of detentions “baseless” and say the rules apply their interpretation of Islamic law and Afghan customs.
The morality ministry did not provide figures in relation to policing of women’s attire or their travel without a male guardian, which authorities have also barred for longer distances. It said that a new plan was being worked on to ensure its Islamic dress rules were followed, overseen by the supreme spiritual leader who is based in the southern city of Kandahar.
“Based on the guidance of the Supreme Leader, the draft plan for observing women’s hijab (Islamic dress) has been formulated and approved,” Mokhlis said.
The morality ministry has previously said that women should cover their faces or wear an all-enveloping burqa and that enforcement would involve “encouragement” with women’s male family members being targeted rather than women directly.
Most Afghan women covered their hair in public in the conservative country even before the Taliban takeover, but some, especially Kabul, did not usually cover their faces or wear a burqa.
Mokhlis said they had prevented just over 200 cases of the sale of women and over 2,600 cases of violence against women.
Taliban morality police dismiss over 280 men without beards from security forces
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Taliban morality police dismiss over 280 men without beards from security forces
- The morality ministry has been criticized for restrictions on women and inhibiting freedom of expression
- Ministry did not provide figures in relation to policing of women’s attire or their travel without a male guardian
India rolls out free HPV vaccines to combat cervical cancer
- Nationwide HPV vaccination campaign targets 11.5 million 14-year-old girls annually
- India records about 80,000 cervical cancer deaths, 120,000 new cases every year
NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a free HPV vaccination drive on Saturday for young girls across India, which has the world’s highest rate of cervical cancer deaths.
India records around 120,000 new cases of cervical cancer annually and around 80,000 deaths. It is the second-most-common cancer among women in the country.
India has the highest number of cervical cancer deaths, followed by China and Indonesia. The number of cases in India is the second highest globally, after China.
With cervical cancer largely preventable through HPV vaccination and regular screening, the new campaign aims to vaccinate around 11.5 million 14-year-old Indian girls annually.
“The prime minister launched the nationwide HPV vaccination campaign … describing it as a pivotal step toward empowering India’s ‘Nari Shakti’ (women power) and ensuring the health of mothers and daughters,” Modi’s office said in a statement.
Under the campaign, a dose of HPV vaccine will be provided free of cost at all government health centers across the country for all 14-year-old girls, said Anupriya Satel, minister of state for health and family welfare.
“This initiative is a historic step towards protecting our adolescent girls from serious diseases like cervical cancer,” she wrote on X.
The launch event, which took place in the northern city of Ajmer, also saw a few young girls receiving the HPV vaccine on stage.
The vaccination is a “powerful preventive step that can save lives,” according to a statement from India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, which also said that HPV vaccinations can help families “secure a healthier, cancer-free future for India’s daughters.”
