The Taliban’s supreme leader issued a new order where new residential buildings in Afghanistan are constructed without windows looking onto "places usually used by women,” adding that existing windows with such views should be blocked to prevent "obscene acts.”

Dont open a window business in Afghanistan

Taliban Leader Bans Windows Overlooking Neighbouring Homes to Restrict Women’s Visibility

Feminists any comment ?https://t.co/X1TEQrOTU6

— Batman (@Batman2242) December 30, 2024

A statement released last December 28, 2024, by the Taliban government says new residential buildings should not have windows through which it is possible to see "the courtyard, kitchen, neighbor's well, and other places usually used by women.”

"Seeing women working in kitchens, in courtyards or collecting water from wells can lead to obscene acts," A decree posted by government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on X (formerly known as Twitter) said.

Municipal authorities and other relevant departments would have to monitor construction sites to ensure it is not possible to see into neighbor’s homes. The decree also stated that, in the event such windows exist, owners would be encouraged to build a wall or obstruct the view "to avoid nuisances caused to neighbors.”

This means women can't even signal to each other when they are locked up in their homes. The men fear them communicating and perhaps organising.

— Sarah Smiles (@iamsarah24_7) December 28, 2024

Since the Taliban returned to power following a US-led withdrawal of NATO troops in August 2021, women have been progressively removed from public spaces, and their rights have been stripped, prompting the United Nations to denounce the "gender apartheid" the Taliban has established in Afghanistan. 

Taliban authorities banned post-primary education for girls and women, severely restricted employment, and blocked access to parks and other public places. Recently, the Taliban passed a law prohibiting women from singing or reciting poetry under its extremely strict and fundamentalist interpretation of Islamic law.

The Left will be on later calling the windows a danger to women not the Taliban.

— Darren (@Rooney47976634) January 1, 2025

The law also encourages Afghan women to “veil” their voices and bodies outside of their homes. Some local radio and television stations have also stopped broadcasting female voices. 

The Taliban claims that Islamic law "guarantees" the rights of Afghan men and women.