The Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice ( ps, د فضیلت تبلیغاتو او د معاونیت مخنیوي وزارت; ) is the state agency in charge of implementing

Islamic law Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the ...

in the

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

as defined by the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

. It was first instituted in 1992 by the Rabbani government of the

Islamic State of Afghanistan The Islamic State of Afghanistan ( fa, , ''Dawlat-i Islāmī-yi Afghānistan'', ps, , ''Da Afghanistan Islami Dowlat'') was the government of Afghanistan, established by the Peshawar Accords on 26 April 1992 by many, but not all, Afgha ...

and adopted in 1996 by the Taliban government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan of 1996–2001. The ministry was restored in the reinstated Islamic Emirate in September 2021 after the August fall of Kabul.

History

First Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan

Established in 1996, the vice and virtue ministry received heavy subsidies and training from

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

. When the Taliban took over Kabul, the committee announced a ban on sorcery and American-style haircuts. It was closed when the Talibans were ousted, but Fazal Hadi Shinwari, an outspoken advocate of orthodoxy and the Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court of Afghanistan prs, دادگاه عالی , image = Logo of the Supreme Court of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.jpg , imagesize = 150 , alt = , caption = Logo of the Supreme Court of Afghanistan , image2 ...

, reinstated it in 2003 and renamed it the Ministry for Haj and Religious Affairs.

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

In 2006, the

Karzai government The Karzai administration was the government of Afghanistan under President Hamid Karzai, who became the head of state of Afghanistan in December 2001 after the Taliban government was overthrown. Karzai was appointed at the 2002 Loya Jirga as ...

submitted draft legislation to create a new department, under the Ministry for Haj and Religious Affairs, devoted to the "Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice". According to Ghazi Suleiman Hamed, Deputy Minister for Haj and Religious Affairs, the new department would operate more benignly than the Taliban version. The minister of Haj and religious affairs

Nematullah Shahrani Nematullah Shahrani (born 1941) is a prominent Afghan scholar. He was one of four Vice Presidents of the Afghan Transitional Administration from 2002 to 2004. Shahrani also headed of the Afghan Constitution Commission. He has written more than 30 ...

stated that the new department would focus on alcohol, drugs, crime and corruption, even though Afghanistan's criminal laws already addressed these issues. According to

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

, reinstating the virtue and vice department would have a negative impact on women rights, a major lever of development for the country.

Shukria Barakzai Shukria Barakzai ( ps, شکريه بارکزۍ) is an Afghan politician, journalist and a prominent Muslim feminist. She was the Ambassador of Afghanistan to Norway. She is a recipient of the International Editor of the Year Award. Early lif ...

, a member of Afghanistan's National Legislature, saw in this draft legislation a reminiscing legacy of the Taliban era. Felice D. Gaer, Chair of the

United States Commission on International Religious Freedom The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is a U.S. federal government commission created by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the lead ...

, stated that the US expressed a strong opposition to reinstatement of the ministry of virtue and vice, calling it a violation to religious freedom rights.

Second Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan

In the 2021 Islamic Emirate Cabinet declared on 7 September 2021, following the 15 August 2021 fall of Kabul, the ministry was restored, according to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. The Cabinet itself was restricted to men only. The ministry was installed in the offices of the former Ministry of Women's Affairs, displacing staff of the World Bank's Women's Economic Empowerment and Rural Development Program. In March 2022, the Islamic Emirate required all men to sport a beard as a condition of government employment. In May 2022, the ministry published a decree requiring all women in Afghanistan to wear full-body coverings when in public (either a

burqa A burqa or a burka, or , and ur, , it is also transliterated as burkha, bourkha, burqua or burqu' or borgha' and is pronounced natively . It is generally pronounced in the local variety of Arabic or variety of Persian, which varies. Examp ...

or an

abaya The abaya "cloak" (colloquially and more commonly, ar, عباية ', especially in Literary Arabic: '; plural ', '), sometimes also called an ''aba'', is a simple, loose over-garment, essentially a robe-like dress, worn by some women in par ...

paired with a

niqāb A niqāb or niqaab (; ar, نِقاب ', "aceveil"), also called a ruband, ( fa, روبند) is a garment, usually black, that covers the face, worn by some Muslim women as a part of an interpretation of '' hijab'' (i.e. "modest dress"). Musli ...

, which leaves only the eyes uncovered). The decree said enforcement action including fines, prison time, or termination from government employment would be taken against male "guardians" who fail to ensure their female relatives abide by the law. Rights groups, including the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan, sharply criticized the decision. The decision is expected to adversely affect the Islamic Emirate's chances of international recognition. The decree was drafted by the ministry and personally approved by

Leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

Hibatullah Akhundzada Hibatullah Akhundzada, also spelled Haibatullah Akhunzada, is an Afghan Islamic scholar, cleric, and jurist who is the supreme leader of Afghanistan. He has led the Taliban since 2016, and came to power with its victory over Western-backe ...

. In an interview with

Christiane Amanpour Christiane Maria Heideh AmanpourStated on ''Finding Your Roots'', 22 January 2019 (; fa, کریستیان امان‌پور, Kristiane Amānpur; born 12 January 1958) is a British-Iranian journalist and television host. Amanpour is the Chief ...

, First Deputy Leader and Acting

Interior Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

Sirajuddin Haqqani Sirajuddin Haqqani ( ps, سراج الدين حقاني, Sirāj al-Dīn Ḥaqqānī, ; aliases ''Khalifa'', and, ''Siraj Haqqani''. born December 1979) is an Afghan Islamist militant who is the first deputy leader of Afghanistan and the acting ...

claimed the decree is only advisory and no form of

hijab In modern usage, hijab ( ar, حجاب, translit=ḥijāb, ) generally refers to headcoverings worn by Muslim women. Many Muslims believe it is obligatory for every female Muslim who has reached the age of puberty to wear a head covering. While ...

is compulsory in Afghanistan, though this contradicts the reality. It has been speculated that there is a genuine internal policy division over women's rights between hardliners, including Akhundzada, and pragmatists, though they publicly present a united front.

Name

In the 2000 book ''

'' by

Ahmed Rashid Ahmed Rashid (Urdu:; born 1948 in Pakistan) is a journalist and best-selling foreign policy author of several books about Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia. Life and career Ahmed Rashid was born in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. He attended Ma ...

, the ministry is referred to as the Department of the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. Mohammed Qalamuddin, the head of the ministry during the first Taliban era, preferred the English translation Department of Religious Observances. Rashid, Ahmed. ''Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil, and Fundamentalism in Central Asia''.

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Universi ...

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

. 2000. 105. .

Role and actions

The Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice of Afghanistan was in charge of implementing Islamic rules (

Hanafi The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named aft ...

principles) as defined by the Taliban. Its

religious police Religious police are any police force responsible for the enforcement of religious norms and associated religious laws. Most religious police in modern society are Islamic and can be found in countries with large Muslim population, such as Saudi ...

raided the streets arresting women not fully covered and people listening to music.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Politics of Afghanistan Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice Afghanistan, Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice Afghanistan, Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice Afghanistan, Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice Afghanistan, Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice Sex segregation enforcement Sexism in Afghanistan Islamic religious police