An official in Kabul said the Taliban have imposed ban on women from using gyms in Afghanistan

This is the latest edict of the religious group's crack down on women's rights and freedoms. They have already banned girls from middle school and high school in spite of initial promises to the contrary. Moreover, they have restricted women from most fields of employment, ordered them to wear head-to-toe clothing in public and banned them from parks. A spokesman from the Ministry of Virtue and Vice said the introduction of the ban was because people were ignoring gender segregation orders. Women were also not wearing the required headscarf, or hijab. The latest ban on women relates to use of gyms and parks and it comes into force this week. This is as per a Taliban-appointed spokesman for the Ministry of Virtue and Vice. It seems the group has “tried its best” over the past 15 months to avoid closing parks and gyms for women. They even considered having separate days of the week for male and female or imposing gender segregation. However, there was violation of the orders and “… we have seen both men and women together in parks and, unfortunately, the hijab was not observed.” That led to “all parks and gyms to be closed for women." Taliban official: Women banned from Afghanistan's gyms. Taliban teams will monitor the establishments to check if women are still using them.

A female personal trainer told a section of the media that women and men were not exercising or training together before at the Kabul gym where she works. She insisted - “we were training separately.” She went on to add that two men claiming to be from the Ministry of Virtue and Vice entered her gym and made all the women leave. Taliban-appointed Kabul police chief spokesman Khalid Zadran said he had no immediate information about women protesting gym closures or arrests. Alison Davidian is the U.N. special representative in Afghanistan for women. She has condemned the ban. It seems hard-liners appear to control the Taliban-led administration. The country remains internationally isolated and the flow of foreign aid has reduced considerably. Sodaba Nazhand is a Kabul-based women’s rights activist. She says the bans are “not just a restriction for women, but also for children. Children go to a park with their mothers, now children are also prevented from going to the park. It’s so sad and unfair.”

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