Afghanistan: Taliban prohibit women under 40 from accessing the Afghan-Uzbek border market

Image: Jihad Watch

Local residents and shopkeepers near the Afghan-Uzbek border in Termez have reported that the Taliban’s so-called “morality police” have recently prohibited women under the age of 40 from entering the shared marketplace. This new restriction has led to a significant decline in customer traffic, severely impacting cross-border trade and the local economy.

“Previously, families, including women, constituted the majority of our customers,” explained one Afghan trader. “Since the ban on younger women, our sales have plummeted.”

This measure seems to be part of a broader crackdown by the Taliban aimed at imposing stricter social controls, especially curbing women’s visibility and involvement in public spaces and economic activities. Such restrictions come amid an ongoing pattern of limiting women’s rights, including bans on education, employment, and mobility in various parts of Afghanistan.

The Taliban have yet to issue an official statement regarding this ban. The market at the Afghan-Uzbek border was one of the rare places where Afghan families could shop and conduct business together openly, making this move a significant blow to communal and economic life in the region.

(This Article was originally published by Jihad Watch)