Date: 25/03/1402 The Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Herat has issued a directive to all wedding halls in the province, banning music and forbidding men—including the groom—from entering the women’s wedding hall.

According to Rakhshana Media, several wedding hall owners reported on Wednesday, June 14, that the ministry also ordered them to identify and report any women entering without hijab. Owners were threatened with serious consequences if these restrictions are not followed.

This directive illustrates the Taliban’s continued intrusion into private life and cultural traditions, turning even weddings—long considered family-centered and relatively protected spaces—into zones of enforcement and surveillance. Banning music and prohibiting the groom from entering the women’s hall reflects a broader policy of gender separation, while the requirement to report women without hijab institutionalizes community-level policing of women’s bodies and behavior.