Date: 19/08/1401 Taliban Bans Women from Entering Sports Halls and Parks in Afghanistan

The Taliban has officially banned women from entering recreational parks, sports halls, and public baths across Afghanistan. Media outlets, including the Associated Press, reported that the ban was implemented during the week of the announcement.

According to the report published on Thursday, Taliban spokesperson Mohammad Akif Mahajir of the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice stated that the group had "made every effort" over the past 15 months to avoid closing these spaces to women. He explained that gender-segregated access days had been introduced, but claimed that “instructions were not followed,” and thus “laws were violated,” leading to the decision to completely close parks and sports halls to women.

This ban marks a sharp escalation in the Taliban’s ongoing exclusion of women from public life, targeting essential spaces for health, recreation, and social connection. While the Taliban claim they “made every effort” to avoid closures, their own restrictive and arbitrary rules made compliance nearly impossible. By blaming women for these bans, they further delegitimize women's public presence and frame it as a threat to moral order. The result is deeper physical and psychological isolation, reinforcing a system of gender apartheid and worsening health and social inequality for women.