Afghanistan's Taliban authorities say women seeking to travel anything other than short distances should not be offered transport unless they are accompanied by a close male relative and wear a hijab.
"This new order essentially moves … further in the direction of making women prisoners," said Heather Barr, the group's associate director of women's rights.
It "shuts off opportunities for them to be able to move about freely, to travel to another city, to do business, [or] to be able to flee if they are facing violence in the home", Ms Barr added. Early this month, the Islamist group issued a decree in the name of their supreme leader instructing the government to enforce women's rights.Activists hope that the Taliban's battle to gain international recognition and get aid flowing back into one of the poorest countries in the world will lead to them making concessions to women.
Respect for women's rights has repeatedly been cited by key global donors as a condition for restoring aid.They were then forced to wear the all-covering burqa, only allowed to leave home with a male chaperone and banned from work and education.
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