Taliban is enforcing restrictions on single and unaccompanied Afghan women, UN says

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A U.N. report says the Taliban are restricting Afghan women’s access to work, travel and health care if they are unmarried or don’t have a male guardian, a mahram. The Taliban have banned women from education, most jobs and public spaces since seizing control of Afghanistan in 2021. In its latest quarterly report published Monday, the U.N. mission in Afghanistan said the Taliban’s Vice and Virtue Ministry is setting up checkpoints and monitoring women’s compliance with dress codes and mahrams. The Taliban’s chief spokesman said the report was based on misunderstandings and accused the mission of ignoring or criticizing Islamic law.