The Taliban on Monday rejected concerns and criticism from the United Nations over new vices and virtues laws that ban women in Afghanistan from uncovering their faces and speaking in public.

Roza Otunbayeva, head of the UN mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA, said on Sunday the laws provided a “disturbing vision” for Afghanistan’s future. She said the laws extended “already intolerable restrictions” on the rights of women and girls, and “even the sound of a female voice” outside the home would apparently be viewed as a moral violation.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban government’s chief spokesman, warned in a statement against the “arrogance” of those unfamiliar with Islamic Sharia, especially non-Muslims who might express reservations or objections.

Taliban government bans public appearance of women’s voices and naked faces

“We demand a thorough understanding of these laws and a respectful recognition of Islamic values. Rejecting these laws without such an understanding is, in our view, an expression of arrogance,” he said.

Afghan women wait for food rations to be distributed by a humanitarian aid organization in Kabul, Afghanistan, on May 23, 2023. The Taliban’s Virtue and Vice Ministry had declared on May 7, 2022 that women must wear an all-encompassing robe in public and cover their faces except for the eyes. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)

Last Wednesday, the Taliban rulers in Afghanistan passed the country’s first laws designed to prevent vice and promote virtue.

These include the requirement that women must conceal their faces, bodies and voices outside the home, and the use of images of living beings, such as photographs, is prohibited.

“After decades of war and in the midst of a terrible humanitarian crisis, the Afghan people deserve much better than to be threatened or imprisoned for being late for prayers, catching a glimpse of a person of the opposite sex who is not a family member, or possessing a photograph of a loved one,” Otunbayeva said.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Responding to the UNAMA statement, Mujahid added: “We must stress that the concerns raised by various parties will not deter the Islamic Emirate from its commitment to uphold and enforce Islamic Sharia law.”