Dressed in a long white gown, the inspector (inspector) of Afghanistan's Ministry of Religious Affairs looks more like a food safety inspector than a 'moral police'.
He is at the forefront of trying to create an 'Islamic identity of Afghanistan, inspired by the hardline ideas of the Taliban. His role in the government is not limited to his position only.
The shopkeepers of the capital Kabul, recalling an incident a few months ago, say that when these inspectors went for inspection in a multistory building, at that time they were picking up every product and checking it. They were checking whether the product had expired. Apart from this, he was also trying that the posters of women in the shop should be removed.
Although not all the posters have been removed yet. Earlier this week, when these inspectors went on tour, the team was also with them.
The group was led by 25-year-old cleric Mahmood Fateh, who was round-faced and wearing glasses. He was the youngest of this group of inspectors and has been a student of a madrasa.
Addressing the shopkeepers and a few others, he gave them a long lecture on the importance of praying and having a big beard. He advised, "Having a beard means that you believe in Prophet Muhammad."
After saying this, he laughed and said that it has many more 'benefits'.
After this, pointing to his fellow inspectors, he said, "These clerics have two or three wives. This is the source of energy."
Maulvi Mahmood Fateh and his four associates offered to help the people in every way in the coming times.
During this, a shopkeeper complained to the cleric that a man who called himself a member of the Taliban was demanding a free mobile phone from him. After hearing the complaint, Maulvi Mahmood Fateh took out his mobile phone from his pocket and saved the mobile number of that person.
He assured me that he will investigate the matter thoroughly.
decree for women
But what has attracted the attention of the whole world to this ministry is the new decree of the ministry related to what women should wear in Afghanistan. It is also being criticized a lot.
Earlier this month, the Taliban issued a decree that women in Afghanistan must cover their faces in public. According to the Taliban's order, women wishing to work in Afghanistan must cover their faces, if a woman repeatedly breaks these rules, her male partner will have to go to jail or go to court.
However, when Mohammad Fateh was in that shopping complex, this was not the subject of his discussion. But when he was questioned about it, he said- "We are talking about the issues of men to men."
Regarding the new dress code, he said, "We have spoken to the head of the shopping complex and put up posters."
There is a printout on a pillar in the same shopping complex with two photographs on it. It has been told how women should dress from the front. In one of these pictures, a woman is wearing a blue burqa and in the other, a woman is wearing a black one.
The printout also carried a message along with the pictures, "Muslim women must wear Islamic burqa, this is the Sharia order."
Afghanistan is considered a country of conservative beliefs where many women have already been wearing a burqa. In cities like Kabul, many women use a dupatta to cover their heads. Some women also use scarves to cover their hair.
Criticism of Taliban decree
Those working for women's rights in the country and abroad have strongly criticized this new decree of the Taliban. He called it disappointing.
In the past, the Taliban have given many orders regarding girls going to school, women working, and traveling. The concern is being raised about this at the global level.
It is believed that in the matter of women's rights, the country had taken one or two steps forward in the last years, the Taliban's order is like pushing it back again.
However, the new restrictions that have been brought regarding the hijab are not being followed strictly as of now. But many have expressed concern that in the coming times, the Taliban may adopt strictness regarding these rules. Women TV presenters have been asked to cover their faces during the broadcast.
In the city of Kabul, many women are still seen who do not walk around with their faces covered. While Mohammad Fateh and his Maulvi companions were walking around the shopping complex, many women were seen in the same way. Some people were also worried about those women.
Maulvi Fatih told that "we can check which woman has a hijab, and who doesn't. If a woman completely violates her boundaries, we'll find her male guardian."
However, he also said that no such situation has come to the fore so far. Also, what he means by 'border violation', he has not been able to define yet.
When asked how a ministry can decide what women should and should not wear, Maulvi Fateh said, "This is not a ministry's order, it is God's decree."
He says, "The real cause of moral corruption is the face. If the face is not covered then what is the point of the hijab?"
'Another Form' of Taliban
After this, the inspector of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, sitting in the back of a pick-up truck, reached the bus stop. During this time, he kept checking the vehicles passing through the way, whether the male passengers were not sitting too close to the female passengers... or whether the women were traveling standing.
In the 1990s, during the first Taliban rule, those who broke the rules of the Taliban were punished severely. They were beaten up in public.
However, Maulvi Fateh says that now this is not done. He says, "Now if any bus driver violates the order and does it again and again, he is taken to our office only for one day and night. He is advised and explained that this order is given by Allah. and these words are from Allah. An assurance is taken from them that they will obey the orders and they are released."
These inspectors were talking softly to the common people in front of us. When we asked people about the Taliban team after the inspectors had left, they said they had no complaints against them.
But the kind of orders the Taliban is issuing, it seems that it is on the way to repeating its earlier regime.
Is the Taliban turning back 20 years?
Shortly after the order regarding the hijab was passed, women's rights activist Leela Basim was traveling on a bus. While she was on the bus, the inspectors of the Ministry of Religious Affairs stopped the bus. An inspector entered the bus after hitting the back of the bus with a stick.
Basim told that two women on the bus were wearing burqas.
She says, "Apart from this, the other women, myself, were also wearing a black gown and surgical face mask. I told them that there is no one here who is not wearing a hijab."
She says, "He turned red with anger when he heard me. He did not look at me but shouted out loud that I am a shameless woman. He said that this is not the Afghan republic but this is the Islamic emirate. Now you She can't do everything you want."
Bassim told that a Taliban watchdog accused her of "working for America" and said she now "wants to live in Afghanistan the American way."
When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan last year, they promised that their current regime would be completely different from the previous regime and that they would move forward with an inclusive government.
But her behavior has changed significantly in recent months, and her current regime is believed to be similar to that of her two decades ago, with no room for women's rights.
Afghanistan facing an economic crisis
Afghanistan is facing a serious economic crisis, but the current government does not seem to be taking any special steps in this direction. However, she seems to be much more active in social change.
In the recent orders passed by the Taliban, separate days have been fixed for women and men to go to the park. Apart from this, women are banned from traveling alone for long distances. The orders have worried social activists and Taliban watchers.
When the spoke to a businessman, he said, "They are gradually implementing the restrictions, one by one. I am sure they will make the current era the same as it was during the 1990s."
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