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Date: Mon, 09 May 2022 04:17:16 +0000 (UTC)
From: INSO_AFG_CENTRAL_SA <sa.central@afg.ngosafety.org>
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Message-ID: <uMydKiEXQ7atsj8xCtapbg@geopod-ismtpd-3-0>
Subject: INSO REPORT =?UTF-8?B?4oCTIEFGRyDigJM=?= KABUL: Updated Rules on
 Social Behaviour Increase Operational Challenges for NGOs
To: Naseer Ahmad Gulzai <gulzai@jack.ngo>

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				This report is for the exclusive use of INSO partners and must not be s=
hared outside your organisation			</td>
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									<div><span style=3D"font-size:24.0pt; font-weight: bold; margin: 0=
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EPORT</span></div>
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; padding: 0; font-family:'Arial', sans-serif; color:#182748">&nbsp;&nbsp;&=
nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;ATTENTION RECOMMENDED</span></div>
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								<div style=3D"margin: 12.5px 25px; padding: 0 12.5px 0 0;">LOCATION=
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								<div style=3D"margin: 12.5px 25px; padding: 0 12.5px 0 0;">INCIDENT=
 TYPE</div>
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2.0pt; font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif; line-height:115%;  ">
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ttom:1px solid #C1C2C4;">
								Updated Rules on Social Behaviour Published								</div>
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lor:#15274B;  ">
								<div style=3D"margin: 12.5px 25px; padding: 0 12.5px 0 0;">DATE & T=
IME</div>
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2.0pt; font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif; line-height:115%;  ">
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ttom:1px solid #C1C2C4;">
								07/05/2022 09:00								</div>
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								<div style=3D"margin: 12.5px 25px; padding: 0 12.5px 0 0;">INFORMAT=
ION</div>
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<p style=3D"text-align: justify;">On 07 May, a spokesperson for the Ministr=
y for the Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue announced that new rul=
es related to the official dress code for women and their public behaviour =
have entered into effect countrywide, after IEA Supreme Leader Hibatullah A=
khundzada signed a corresponding decree from the ministry.<br /><br />Under=
 the new regulations, women between puberty and old age will be required to=
 wear an extended form of &ldquo;hijab&rdquo; in public, covering their hai=
r as well as the rest of their body, with the exception of their eyes. Mini=
stry officials stated that while the &ldquo;burka&rdquo; is considered to b=
e the ideal garment within these parameters, other clothing fulfilling the =
above requirements are also permissible.<br /><br />In addition, according =
to the latest decree, women should generally avoid leaving their homes unle=
ss on urgent or strictly necessary matters. The decree does not provide fur=
ther guidance on the circumstances that fall under this category.<br /><br =
/>The decree further outlines that in case a woman was found to be in viola=
tion of these new rules, IEA officials would seek to first identify their h=
omes and male relatives, advising the latter that their female relative fai=
led to comply with the ministry requirements. Should the individual after r=
eceiving the officials&rsquo; counsel still fail to change their behaviour,=
 IEA forces will first summon their male relative(s) to the nearest PD. Aft=
er a third offense, IEA forces will arrest the male relative(s) for three d=
ays, while after a fourth offense, they will be relegated to a Sharia court=
 to receive a ruling and associated punishment.<br /><br />According to the=
 directive, ministry officials as well as police and GDI officers would enf=
orce its tenets in practice. In addition to these enforcement measures, off=
icials will promote the advantages of the order through public advertisemen=
ts in the form of banners and religious advice offered in mosques.<br /><br=
 />In the days leading up to the announcement on 07 May, anecdotal reportin=
g from Kabul City had stated that ministry officials attended sermons in se=
veral mosques. During the sermon, ministry officials warned attendees that =
their female relatives will need to dress in accordance with ministry requi=
rements, or face sanctions.<br /><br />As of the time of writing, based on =
the precedents of other social behaviour rules and additional information p=
rovided by ministry officials, it is understood that the provisions of the =
decree currently do not extend to female foreign nationals.</p>
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lor:#15274B;  ">
								<div style=3D"margin: 12.5px 25px; padding: 0 12.5px 0 0;">ANALYSIS=
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<p style=3D"text-align: justify;">The latest decree marks a further intensi=
fication of religiously-motivated social behaviour rules witnessed since De=
cember 2021, following earlier decrees on mahrams for women travelling by r=
oad (see AFGHANISTAN/CENTRAL/R/26122021/#001) and by air (see AFGHANISTAN/C=
ENTRAL/R/29032022/#001), as well as the closing down of girls&rsquo; school=
s above year six, segregating public parks by gender, and clothing requirem=
ents for individuals seeking to enter government institutions. Given this c=
ontinuation of earlier practice, mirroring closely policies the IEA had esp=
oused during its first rule, further social behaviour rules based on IEA in=
terpretations of Islamic texts can be expected in the medium term.<br /><br=
 />As with the earlier decrees, the authorities&rsquo; ability and intent t=
o effectively implement these new regulations throughout Kabul City, or oth=
er provinces, remains unclear. The scale of the directive, which would affe=
ct virtually all adult Afghan women regardless of their personal background=
, would greatly exacerbate its implementation in an urban environment. Limi=
ted manpower available for other policing efforts, such as regulating traff=
ic or targeting criminal elements and OAG members, suggests that adding suc=
h further responsibilities would overstretch their capabilities.<br /><br /=
>Moreover, several key provisions of the decree still remain largely ambigu=
ous, leading to general uncertainty about the specific requirements which i=
s expected to complicate attempts at compliance. The lack of a clear age li=
mit as well as a set definition of what constitutes &ldquo;urgent&rdquo; ac=
tivities that would permit women to leave their residences, and whether thi=
s part of the decree is an order or only a suggestion, are central elements=
 that are still ill-defined. This is likely to force individual IEA members=
 to interpret such central tenets on a case-by-case basis, rather than acti=
oning clear guidelines. Furthermore, based on experiences with other social=
 behaviour rules implemented since the IEA takeover, authorities on the loc=
al level may opt to alter the scope of the new rules, for example expanding=
 them to include female expatriates on an ad hoc basis.<br /><br />As of th=
e time of writing, no concrete steps towards implementation of the new dire=
ctive have been reported within Kabul City. It also currently remains uncle=
ar how and to which degree the directive will be implemented in practice on=
 the provincial, district, and local level, as individual government and se=
curity bodies may differ significantly in their approach. A centralised imp=
lementation spearheaded by ministry officials is assessed as unlikely, give=
n resource restrictions and anticipated local resistance against attempts b=
y Kabul authorities to directly manage policy on the ground.<br /><br />For=
 NGOs, firstly, the new regulations add to existing logistical and operatio=
nal challenges by affecting the freedom of movement of female staff members=
 and thereby potentially limiting their ability to conduct their daily work=
. The additional psychological stress on female staff members as a result o=
f pressure to comply with the new regulations also needs to be considered.<=
br /><br />Secondly, the associated ambiguity reduces NGOs&rsquo; ability t=
o reliably plan out operations on any project involving female staff and wi=
ll require additional research on and negotiations with government stakehol=
ders to ensure continued access and acceptance. These preconditions may als=
o be subject to constant change, either as a result of increased pressure f=
rom the ministry level or the replacement of individual officials.</p>
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lor:#15274B;  ">
								<div style=3D"margin: 12.5px 25px; padding: 0 12.5px 0 0;">ADVICE</=
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<p style=3D"text-align: justify;">NGOs are advised to inform staff members,=
 in particular drivers, of the new social behaviour guidelines, the nature =
of possibly intensified related controls at VCPs, and the potential risk as=
sociated with being perceived as non-compliant by individual IEA members.<b=
r /><br />Due to anticipated differences in implementation by IEA members, =
the sharing of experiences of NGO travel with regards to regulations of soc=
ial behaviour among partners is strongly encouraged, as a measure to reduce=
 the level of uncertainty for future travels.<br /><br />NGOs should delibe=
rate on internal operational and strategic responses to other potential res=
trictions in the future that may impact their regular day-to-day activities=
.<br /><br />NGOs are further advised to share the operational challenges t=
his directive presents with ACBAR and OCHA, as well as with their donors, i=
n order to assist in their respective advocacy efforts towards the authorit=
ies.</p>
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lor:#15274B;  ">
								<div style=3D"margin: 12.5px 25px; padding: 0 12.5px 0 0;">ISSUED B=
Y</div>
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2.0pt; font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif; line-height:115%;  ">
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ttom:1px solid #C1C2C4;">
								<div style=3D"text-align: justify;">SA Central, Dennis Ikas<br /><b=
r /></div>
<div style=3D"text-align: justify;"><a href=3D"mailto:sa.central@afg.ngosaf=
ety.org">sa.central@afg.ngosafety.org</a></div>								</div>
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lor:#15274B;  ">
								<div style=3D"margin: 12.5px 25px; padding: 0 12.5px 0 0;">INSO SER=
IAL #</div>
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2.0pt; font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif; line-height:115%;  ">
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ttom:1px solid #C1C2C4;">
								AFGHANISTAN/CENTRAL/R/09052022/#001								</div>
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rial', sans-serif; color:white; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;=
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				INSO exists to provide dedicated security services to the NGO community=
. As a free service, INSO and its donors or partners, accept no liability w=
hatsoever for claims as may result from the provision or utilisation of the=
se free services. Whilst every effort is made to the verify data, INSO cann=
ot guarantee the accuracy of information provided. Reproduction of INSO inf=
ormation is prohibited.									<br>
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