The Taliban have announced that photos of women on national identity cards will now be optional, a move that has drawn sharp criticism from women’s rights advocates who say it undermines recognition and equality for Afghan women.
The decree, issued by the Taliban’s religious authority, Dar al-Ifta, states that photos will only be required for Afghan women living abroad or traveling overseas for medical treatment. For women inside Afghanistan, the religious body ruled that including a photograph on ID cards is “contrary to Sharia.”
The decision overrides earlier plans by the Taliban-run National Statistics and Information Authority, which had intended to make photos mandatory to verify identity, prevent fraud, facilitate travel, and comply with international standards. Dar al-Ifta dismissed 10 of the agency’s 11 justifications as “un-Islamic.”
According to the decree, legal documents will require only a woman’s name, her father’s and grandfather’s names, and her address. The authority argued that passports and visas already serve the purpose of international identification, making ID card photos unnecessary. Women, however, may still choose to include their photograph voluntarily.
Rights groups condemned the ruling, describing it as another erosion of women’s rights four years after the Taliban barred girls from secondary schools and universities. On social media, activists called on the international community not to remain silent, while protesting women demanded that identity documents be issued without gender-based restrictions.
