Vice and Virtue

The Afghan government has recently reactivated the Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (aka Department of Vice and Virtue) which was in force during the Taliban regime. What does that mean for us?? The only obvious sign so far was last week when several restaurants that serve alcohol were raided – although I've heard that in fact the restaurants were sort of 'innocent bystanders' to some nearby Chinese establishments which were covers for brothels. Anyhow, there is no more wine on the tables as many people are uncertain what the future will bring.

Excerpt from a recent news report:

... Until the Taliban's five-year rule was ended by the US-led coalition in late 2001, the virtue and vice ministry enforced numerous restrictions. Men were instructed to grow beards and women were forced to wear all-covering burqas, while girls' schools, television and gambling were banned. Even kite-flying was considered a crime. Those who had violated the rules faced imprisonment and public beatings

"Re-instalment of the Department of Vice and Virtue with no clear terms of reference yet is a matter of concern for us," Ahmad Nader Nadery, spokesman of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), told IRIN in Kabul.

"A similar department under the Taliban regime was a tool to interfere in the privacy of life of every individual to suppress the citizens and to limit all rights and freedoms of people," he said.

According to the Ministry of Pilgrimage and Religious Affairs, the new department would mainly focus on alcohol, drugs, crime and corruption. "While sharing principles with its Taliban-era predecessor, the focus would be on preaching and advising people about the correct way to act," an official said.


Perhaps this campaign is part of a conspiracy backed by the recently opened coca cola factory....