Law of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vices

Responsibilities of the Overseer Regarding Specific Evils

Article Twenty-Two: The overseer is responsible for preventing the following specific evils:
1. Adultery, whether by force or consent, whether hidden or public. Temporary marriages (Mut'ah) are also not allowed.
2. Immorality involving sexual activities.
3. Lesbianism (same-sex relations among women).
4. Homosexuality (even if with one's own spouse).
5. Pedophilia.
6. Gambling (such as dice games, gambling with pebbles, coin tossing, or other similar games).
7. Creating conditions or means for adultery, immorality, lesbianism, homosexuality, pedophilia, and gambling.
8. Organizing fights between dogs, chickens, lizards, quails, and other animals or birds.
9. Misuse of television, radio, and similar items for producing and viewing images and videos of living creatures on computers, mobile phones, and similar devices.
10. The loud output of women's voices or music outside the home or gathering.
11. The use, purchase, sale, possession, and trafficking of intoxicants (such as alcoholic beverages).
12. Revealing private areas.
13. Immodesty.
14. Abandoning and neglecting prayers.
15. Neglecting obligatory religious duties.
16. Failing to perform congregational prayers.
17. Breaking the fast.
18. Shaving the beard or trimming it excessively.
19. Haircuts that are contrary to Islamic law.
20. Associating with and emulating non-Muslims in appearance and behavior.
21. Celebrating Nowroz, Yalda Night, fireworks by Muslims, and similar practices that are common among Muslims but have no basis in Sharia.
22. Using and promoting crosses, neckties, and other non-Islamic symbols.
23. Engaging in and promoting innovations (Bid'ah) and reprehensible acts as outlined in authoritative Hanafi jurisprudence.
24. Disobeying parents.
25. Violating people's rights.
26. Misbehaving with or mistreating orphans and the oppressed.

Article Twenty-Two constitutes a sweeping codification of ideological repression, criminalizing a wide array of private behaviors under the guise of moral purity. The article not only targets sexual and gender minorities with punitive measures, but also curtails religious freedom, cultural celebration, and basic personal freedoms like hairstyle and attire. By labeling even minor deviations from the Taliban’s interpretation of Hanafi jurisprudence as punishable offenses, the law seeks to homogenize Afghan society into a rigid, surveillance-heavy moral order. The list blurs the line between private and public life, exposing individuals—especially women, youth, LGBTQ+ persons, and religious minorities—to arbitrary punishment and social exclusion.