The Taliban has begun employing female spies to enforce harsh new restrictions on women's behavior in Afghanistan, according to reporting by The Telegraph. These informants are tasked with monitoring social media and patrolling public spaces to catch women violating the regime's strict rules.

"They are needed to handle other women," said an official from the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (MPVPV), the state agency in charge of implementing Islamic law. The ministry has hired women to monitor Instagram pages and report instances where women post pictures with uncovered faces. "You know how Instagram works ... they can hide their pages so no one can see them, but we have women who are our eyes."

Some women are coerced into this role, while others are paid for their work, which also includes accompanying male Taliban members on street patrols. "Some women were arrested and released only on the condition that they inform the ministry of any illegal activity they observe from the women they follow," the official explained.

"Just as education for girls is banned, questioning it is also banned" —Taliban Minister of Education.

Afghanistan is ruled by sharia law under Taliban!
pic.twitter.com/Z5VxD45HoL

— Azat (@AzatAlsalim) September 1, 2024

 One such informant, identified as Golnesa, spends her days monitoring and reporting on her fellow Afghan women. The 36-year-old patrols the city looking for those who do not adhere to the rules of chastity and visits locations to find women violating the dress code.

"I go to busy supermarkets and women's clothing shops," Golnesa told The Telegraph. When she spots a woman with an uncovered face, visible ankles, or laughing with shopkeepers, she contacts male officers who arrive with rifles. "It's their job to handle the situation with these women, and many of them are taken to police stations," she said. Golnesa defends her role, stating, "I don't support women who protest in the streets and claim to represent all women. They don't represent me or many other Muslim women who are tired of seeing indecency."

Afghanistan's breakdancer Manijeh Talash, who hopes to return to her homeland and live in freedom, tearfully urged Afghan girls not to surrender to Taliban tyranny. Her brave #FreeAfghanWomen message on her cape cost her the Olympics. pic.twitter.com/aF06ZkQmx3

— Habib Khan (@HabibKhanT) September 2, 2024

 However, Dr. Zahra Haqparast, a former protester now based in Germany, condemns the practice. "We always knew that the Taliban would eventually use women against other women," she told The Telegraph. "There were girls who infiltrated our WhatsApp groups posing as activists, and they assisted the Taliban in arresting many of the protesters."

Dr. Haqparast, who lost her job as a dentist when the Taliban returned to power, was herself arrested due to information provided by a female informant. She criticizes women who work for the Taliban, saying, "We protested and sacrificed everything for our fellow women. Yet, some women do everything they can to harm others of the same gender. I can only tell them, shame on you."

The post Taliban employs female spies to rat on dissidents appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The Taliban has fired hundreds of men from Afghanistan's security forces due to their inability to grow beards, according to a report by The Telegraph. The notorious ministry for the propagation of virtue and prevention of vice revealed this information along with other updates in its annual report.

During a press conference in Kabul, Mohibullah Mokhlis, the ministry's director of planning and legislation, stated that "281 beardless officers were identified, confirmed, and dismissed" from the country's security services over the past 12 months. He added, "The hairstyles of 450 military mujahideen were corrected to comply with Sharia law. And some who repeated the [hairstyle] violation were sent to military courts."

The Taliban has prohibited barbers in several provinces from shaving or trimming beards, claiming that the edict aligns with Sharia law. According to Islamic law, which is strictly upheld by the Taliban, it is mandatory for Muslim men to have a beard that is at least the "length of a fist."

The Taliban dismissed more than 280 members of its security force for their failure to grow beards. pic.twitter.com/jpIY1nlsEF

— 91 thoughts (@Marc4_ke) August 22, 2024

 One former Taliban security officer, who was recently dismissed, complained, "I cannot grow a beard, and they constantly called and harassed me. Around three months ago, the commander told me that I could no longer stay in the unit because of my beard." He added, "I joined them for financial reasons, but throughout my year with them, I faced lots of harassment over my inability to grow a beard. They would say I wasn't a true Muslim."

The officer also mentioned that about 10 other people were dismissed on the same day, including middle-aged men with significant experience, solely due to their inability to grow beards.

In addition to the beard-related dismissals, the Taliban regime disclosed that 21,328 musical instruments had been destroyed in the past year. Jalil Ahmad, a former guitar teacher in Herat, recounted how morality forces had stormed his home earlier this year and beaten him for owning several musical instruments.

Ahmad described the incident: "They knocked on the door, and I saw them through the window. I told my family not to open it, but one of them climbed over the gate and jumped into the yard. He unlocked the door, and five more officers stormed into the house." The 31-year-old was then taken to a police station, where he said he had been severely beaten.

Officials reported on Tuesday that more than 13,000 Afghans had been detained for "immoral acts" over the past year, with half of those having been released after 24 hours.

The morality ministry, which has faced criticism from human rights organizations and the United Nations for its restrictions on women and limitations on freedom of expression, also announced that a new plan was being developed to ensure compliance with Islamic dress rules. This plan will be overseen by Supreme Leader of Afghanistan Hibatullah Akhundzada.

The post Taliban shaves off hundreds of officers for lack of beards appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The post The new victims of Iran's morality police: Men in shorts appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The German news agency dpa reported that a court on Monday fined the men, aged between 27 and 37, to penalties ranging from 300 euros ($335) to 1,800 euros ($2,015).

The group took to the streets of the western city of Wuppertal in 2014, dressed in orange vests bearing the words "Sharia police" and handing out leaflets declaring the area a "Sharia-controlled zone" where alcohol, music and pornography were banned under Islam's Sharia law.

The court said the group and their helpers were aware of the militant effect they were trying to achieve.

They were previously acquitted in 2016 when judges found that the vests couldn't be classified as a uniform and weren't intimidating. A federal court ordered a retrial.

The post German court fines 7 men who claimed to be 'Sharia police' appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Women in Saudi Arabia have for decades been required to wear the abaya – a loose, all-covering robe – in public, a dress code strictly enforced by police.

Prince Mohammed said in March that women only needed to dress modestly and were not required to wear abayas. But Saudi women say that in practice nothing has changed, and are demanding more freedom.

"I've started wearing my compulsory hijab called abaya (this black robe) turned inside out to express my objection on Sharia law violating Saudi women's freedom to clothe," tweeted one, referring to the Islamic law that effectively governs the kingdom.

Amani Al-Ahmadi, a Saudi activist with the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, called the protest a "brilliant move" that could create real change.

"To see another woman in flipped abayas – it builds solidarity between women and shows that they are not alone. It is keeping the conversation going and could lead to change," she said.

"It is another form of dehumanization for women. It forces women to cover up their bodies in order to fit into society and the role of being inferior to men," she said.

Last year police briefly arrested a Saudi woman who appeared on a Snapchat clip strolling through an empty alleyway wearing a short skirt and a top that exposed her midriff.

Prince Mohammad was praised for promoting women's rights in the kingdom after he ruled earlier this year they should be allowed to attend mixed public sporting events and drive cars.

But since then more than a dozen activists, most of them women who had campaigned for greater freedoms, have been detained.

Naureen Shameem, a human rights lawyer who works with the Association for Women's Rights in Development, said she supported the social media campaign.

"It's time for real change rather than insincere rhetoric about reform," she said.

Saudi women have started wearing more colorful abayas in recent years, the light blues and pinks in stark contrast with the traditional black. Open abayas over long skirts or jeans are also becoming more common in some parts of the country.

"Many women and girls in the Arab world are still forced to wear the hijab and the abaya either by their family or by their country – and they should have the right to choose," said Suad Abu-Dayyeh, Middle East expert with global advocacy group Equality Now.

The post Protesting Sharia law, Saudi women wear abayas inside out appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.