Women Banned From Visiting Band-e-Amir National Park

Mohammad Khaled Hanafi, the acting Minister of Virtue and Vice, asked all religious clerics and security agencies to forbid women from visiting Amir Band National Park at a meeting in Bamyan.

Hanafi said that the decision was taken because of women’s non-observance of hijab and added that women should be prevented from entering this park until a procedure is prepared.

The acting Minister of Virtue and Vice stated that going on a trip is not obligatory.

“Women and our sisters cannot go to Band-e-Amir until we agree on a principle. The security agencies, elders and the inspectors should take action in this regard. Going for sightseeing is not obligatory,” Hanafi said.

Band-e-Amir National Park is one of the tourist spots in Bamyan, which was introduced as the first national park in the country in 2009, and since then it has attracted thousands of visitors each year.