Afghanistan: Directorate of Information and Culture says broadcasting women’s voices on radio ‘absolutely forbidden’
The guiding principle here is the same as the principle behind the burqa: women must conceal themselves in order to keep men from being tempted. If some men are tempted by seeing women’s faces, then those faces must not be seen. If some men are tempted by hearing women’s voices, then those voice must not be heard.
Taliban Enforces New Media Restrictions In Kandahar, Bans Women’s Voices On Radio
Afghanistan International, March 18, 2025:
The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) has reported that the Taliban has imposed new media restrictions in Kandahar. According to a directive issued by the Taliban’s Directorate of Information and Culture, broadcasting women’s voices on the radio is now “absolutely forbidden.”
The directive also orders all radio stations to refer to Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada as the “Esteemed Amir al-Mu’minin, may Allah protect him.” Additionally, media outlets must refer to the Taliban government as the “Islamic Emirate.”
The restrictions extend beyond content regulations. Advertisements for medicine, cosmetic products, and healthcare services are now banned unless officially approved by the Directorate of Public Health. Radio employees traveling within Kandahar for reporting or programming purposes must also obtain prior authorisation from the Directorate of Information and Culture….
Previously, media outlets in Kandahar could still air some content featuring women, especially programmes produced in Kabul. However, with this new directive, Kandahar has become the second province, after Helmand, where the Taliban has officially banned women’s voices in the media….
Bangladesh: Muslim arrested for sexual harassment is released, victim threatened, cheering crowd greets perpetrator
Not only has the woman been inundated with rape and death threats, but those who made the threats went away thinking they were righteous. The reason for that is embedded within Islam’s teachings about women and modesty, particularly the Qur’an’s statement that women should cover themselves so that they will not be molested (33:59). The unspoken corollary is that if a woman does not veil herself, she deserves to be molested.
BD women alarmed by emboldened Islamists
AFP, March 16, 2025 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
DHAKA: Arrested for sexually harassing a Bangladeshi university student, Asif Sardar Arnab was soon released — greeted by a cheering crowd who presented him with flower garlands.
His alleged victim was a student who enthusiastically supported the youth-led uprising that overthrew the Muslim-majority nation’s autocratic government last year.
That young woman, after receiving a torrent of violent threats from religious hardliners emboldened by the political upheaval, now wonders whether she made the right choice.
“A perpetrator was freed because of a mob,” she said in a social media post.
“You can’t imagine the number of rape and death threats I’ve received,” added the woman, who cannot be identified due to Bangladeshi laws designed to protect sexual harassment complainants from retribution.
“We made a mistake by joining the movement. So many people sacrificed their lives in vain.”
Tribune, PK
Several recent cases of sexual violence have captured public attention.
An eight-year-old girl died Thursday from wounds she sustained during a rape days earlier — a case that prompted days of protests and vigils by women in Dhaka and elsewhere.
Such is the level of public anger that police have begun transporting rape suspects to court in the middle of the night, fearful of attacks.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, who leads the interim government which replaced Hasina, condemned the "horrific acts of violence" against women.
"This is deeply concerning and completely at odds with our dream of building a new Bangladesh," he said.
Yunus's administration has struggled to restore law and order, with many police officers refusing to return to work and the army brought in to help. It has since last month also directed scant police resources to a sweeping crackdown, dubbed Operation Devil Hunt, against gangs allegedly connected to Hasina and working to foment unrest.
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