Libya's Minister of the Interior doesn't that, among other things, compulsory veiling for girls from the age of nine and a ban on "inappropriate" hairstyles and clothing should be introduced. Moral policeen shall ensure that the new rules and the country's "social values" afteris followed. Amnesty International criticizes the decision and believes that it worsens discrimination against women and girls.
From Decemberyour month should morality police be introduced in Libya. "Inappropriate" behaviors, such as wearing clothes and hairstyles that do not follow the country's dominant social norms, must be discouraged and prohibited. This was announced by the country's Interior Minister Emad al-Trabulsi, who sits in the country's UN-backed Government of National Unity (GNU), at a press conference recently.
Girls aged nine and over will be forced to wear the veil, and women will need a male guardian's permission to travel, according to the Home Secretary's proposal. The morality police will also monitor cafes, workplaces and other public spaces to prevent women and men from interacting in "inappropriate" ways.
- Personal freedom does not exist here in Libya, said Interior Minister Emad al-Trabulsi adding that those who want freedom "should go to Europe".
Businesses that do not comply with the new rules, for example hairdressing salons, will be penalized. In the worst case, they are shut down by the forces of the morality police, according to the minister.
Bassam Al Kantar, the human rights organization Amnesty International's Libya researcher, believes that the proposals risk worsening discrimination against women and girls. They also restrict freedom of speech and religion and people's privacy, he said in a statement.
- The GNU must scrap the plans for these repressive measures and instead address the human rights crisis around the country, which is characterized by arbitrary and large-scale detentions, enforced disappearances, torture and unfair trials.
Since dictator Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011 after four decades of rule, Libya has been plagued by political instability. New violence broke out in 2014, and since then the country has been divided into West and East with rival governments.
In 2021, the UN-backed and internationally recognized Government of National Unity (GNU) was formed in Tripoli, giving hope for a unified government. But the following year, the eastern parliament in Benghazi established a rival government, the Government of National Stability (GNS), which, like the GNU claim to to rule the country.
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