Taliban Declares Women’s Photos on ID Cards “Optional”

Kokcha News Agency: The Taliban’s Dar al-Ifta has issued a decree stating that the inclusion of women’s photos on national ID cards (Tazkira) is optional, except for Afghan women living abroad or traveling for medical treatment. This decision comes after the Taliban’s National Statistics and Information Authority had proposed making photos mandatory on ID cards to prevent fraud, corruption, and to facilitate travel and international standards.

In a detailed memo, the authority had provided 11 reasons for the necessity of including photos on ID cards. However, the Dar al-Ifta rejected 10 of these reasons as “un-Islamic,” accepting only one exception: the inclusion of photos for Afghan women residing abroad or traveling for medical purposes. The Taliban’s religious authority deemed the inclusion of photos for women inside Afghanistan as “against Sharia.”

According to documents obtained by Afghanistan International, the Taliban’s statistics authority had argued that including photos was a crucial requirement for issuing ID cards and assured that all procedures related to women’s ID cards would be handled by female staff.

However, the Dar al-Ifta countered that for legal matters, mentioning the father’s and grandfather’s names is sufficient, and there are other methods to prevent fraud. The authority also stated that international travel is conducted with passports and visas, making ID cards unnecessary in this context.

The Dar al-Ifta emphasized, “Including photos without a legitimate Islamic necessity is not permissible, whether it’s a full-body photo or just a face photo.” The Taliban’s religious scholars believe that for identity verification within the country, mentioning the name, father’s name, grandfather’s name, and residential address is sufficient.

Under this fatwa, including women’s photos on ID cards is not mandatory, but women who wish to do so can voluntarily include their photos.

Backlash from Activists:
This decision has been met with widespread criticism from human rights and women’s rights activists. Many women view the optional inclusion of photos as a new restriction on their rights and have opposed the decision.

On social media, users have launched the hashtag #MyPhotoMyIdentity, calling on the international community not to remain silent on this issue.

The Women’s Transformative Movement in Afghanistan stated, “This decree not only violates the principle of human equality and citizenship rights but also deprives women of their right to identity and recognition.”

Protesting women are demanding the issuance of identity documents without gender-based discrimination.