The Taliban say security forces will stop women from visiting Afghan national park

By RAHIM FAIEZ
Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban say they will use security forces to stop women from visiting one of Afghanistan’s most popular national parks in central Bamiyan province. Authorities banned women from public spaces, including parks, last November alleging that women were not wearing the hijab, or Islamic headscarf, correctly. This comes a week after the Vice and Virtue Minister Mohammad Khalid Hanafi told a gathering of local officials and elders in Bamiyan that sightseeing was not a must for women and that they have been ignoring hijab rules for two years when going to Band-e-Amir. A ministry spokesman shared information late Saturday night about the use of security forces to prevent women from visiting the park.