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WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 18, 2006) –
The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) expressed deep concern
over a proposal by the Afghan government to reestablish the
Department for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention
of Vice. The proposal was passed by the cabinet of President
Hamid Karzai and will soon be considered by the Afghan Parliament.
Under Taliban rule, the Ministry for the
Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice gained notoriety
for its stern and often brutal enforcement of the ultra-conservative
Islamic Sharia law. Men were beaten for trimming their beards,
and women were publicly punished for wearing partially transparent
socks, exposing their wrists, hands, or ankles, and when not
accompanied in public by a close male relative.
Most alarmingly for Hindus, the same Ministry,
under the Taliban, required Hindus to wear specific identification
tags and prohibited the building and maintenance of Hindu
temples. Hindu women were also forced to wear conservative
Islamic garb covering themselves completely.
In a recently released report on Hindu human
rights, “Hindus in South Asia and the Diaspora: A Survey
of Human Rights (2005)”, HAF stated that many Hindus
currently do not send their children to school fearing persecution
and ridicule. Human Rights Watch warned that the re-establishment
of the Vice and Virtue department may further limit access
to educational institutions for vulnerable groups, especially
women.
“Hindus in Afghanistan are already
facing discrimination at many levels,” said Pawan Deshpande,
member of the HAF Executive Council. “Rather than focusing
on building a more open society, the proposed moral policing
can only make the current situation even worse.”
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