2025 Calendar Year for Women in Afghanistan (Part 3 of 8): Enforced Dress Codes and Appearance Rules
This is the third report in an eight-part series that specifically reviews the situation of women in Afghanistan, focusing on bans on women’s presence in public spaces and restrictions on mobility.
In 2025, rules for women's movement and access to public spaces in Afghanistan remained strict. Women faced arrests, limited mobility, and restricted access to healthcare, education, & workplaces, with enforcement often linked to the mandatory presence of a male guardian (mahram). In Mazar-e-Sharif, authorities barred women from entering the Rawza-e-Sharif (Blue Mosque), a major religious site in Balkh province, even for women observing full Islamic dress.
In Faryab province, the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of the Vice prohibited women from entering parks, public baths, gyms, and restaurants without a male guardian, with official notices posted at park entrances in Maimana warning of legal consequences for violations.
Across several provinces, women were barred from traveling distances over 72 kilometers or from using taxis unless accompanied by a mahram, further limiting their access to essential services. Taliban morality police also directed private businesses, including shops and markets, to refuse services to unaccompanied women. Human Rights Watch reports that the mahram rule severely limits women's access to healthcare and public services.
In provinces such as Kandahar, UN experts documented cases where women without a mahram were denied essential medical services, worsening health risks, social isolation, and humanitarian consequences. Taken together, these policies and practices demonstrate a system of institutionalized discrimination, effectively excluding women from public life and undermining their autonomy and fundamental rights.
Hannah Neumann: “Gender apartheid isn't an accident. It's working as intended.”
