Afghan Women Protest Taliban Speech Ban

Afghan women are protesting against a new Taliban law that bans women from speaking, singing, or reading aloud in public by posting videos of themselves singing on social media. The law, part of the Taliban's 'Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice' regulations, requires women to cover their faces, bodies, and voices outside the home, and it formalizes restrictions that have been in place since the Taliban took power in 2021. Women both inside and outside Afghanistan are using hashtags like 'MyVoiceIsNotForbidden' and 'No to Taliban' to express their dissent. The videos often show women covered head-to-toe in veils, singing songs about freedom and resistance. These protests have garnered significant international attention and condemnation of the Taliban's regressive policies towards women. The United Nations has also expressed concern about the impact of these restrictions on Afghan women and girls.