The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has issued a recent report criticizing the practices of the Ministry of Virtue and Vice in Afghanistan, particularly those affecting women and girls.
UNAMA expressed concern over the restrictions imposed on women and girls by this ministry.
The report primarily focuses on the human rights situation and the ministry’s practices from August 15, 2021, to March 31, 2024. It highlights that certain methods employed by the Ministry of Virtue and Vice in enforcing directives and orders have led to human rights violations.
“Between 15 August 2021 and 31 March 2024, UNAMA HRS documented at least 1033 instances (205 on female, 828 on male) where de facto PVPV employees applied force during the implementation of instructions. In some cases, made public by the de facto MPVPV, it reported to have helped the public in meeting the standards prescribed by the decrees in other ways,” the report reads.
Mohammad Aimal Dostyar, a university lecturer, told TOLOnews: “Unfortunately, UNAMA’s recent reports are not based on realities; instead, they project a specific segment of society in a certain way.”
Kamran Aman, a political and military analyst, said: “It is the best practice to implement the orders and directives of the Amir al-Mu’minin, and the Ministry for the Vice and Virtue implements these directives effectively.”
The report also mentions Afghanistan’s membership and commitments to several UN human rights documents and emphasizes the need to fulfill these commitments.
The perspective of the Ministry of Virtue and Vice is also included in the report, stating that its actions are based on the directives of their leadership.
According to the report: “The decrees of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Supreme Leader (May Allah protect him) lay the foundation of the formal documents that are based on Islamic sources. It is a widely recognized principle in all common regimes that decrees and relevant legal documents are issued to reform society and should have their implementation ensured.”
The report says that comprehensive prohibitions with discriminatory consequences have been imposed on women in Afghanistan. Human rights violations by personnel of the Ministry of Virtue and Vice and its current departments have affected many citizens’ trust in their work.
Previously, UNAMA’s quarterly report on the human rights situation in Afghanistan also criticized widespread violations of women’s and girls’ rights in Afghanistan.