Thousands of people visit Band-e-Amir national park each year, taking in its stunning landscape of sapphire-blue lakes and towering cliffs in the country’s central Bamiyan province.

The ban was announced after the acting minister of vice and virtue complained that women visiting the park had not been adhering to the proper way of wearing the hijab.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) described the ban as the latest in a growing list of restrictions imposed on Afghan women.

Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, authorities have closed most girls’ secondary schools, barred women from university and stopped many female Afghan aid staff from working.

“Can someone please explain why this restriction on women visiting Band-e-Amir is necessary to comply with sharia and Afghan culture?” Richard Bennett wrote on social media.

The Taliban have long held thatthey respects women’s rights in accordance with the group’s interpretation of Islamic law and Afghan customs.

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