‘Western agenda’: Taliban bans sale of contraceptives, report says

The Taliban have reportedly stopped the sale of contraceptives in at least two major cities in Afghanistan, using threats and intimidation to further restrict access and infringe on the rights of women in the country.

“They came to my gun store twice and threatened me not to keep birth control pills to sell,” a store owner in one of the cities told The Guardian. “They regularly check every pharmacy in Kabul and we have stopped selling products.”

The government has not released an official policy or declaration on the matter, but this has allegedly not prevented Taliban fighters from visiting any shops or medical workers in the cities. Kabul and Mazar-i-Sharif who will directly provide or encourage the use of contraceptives.

Taliban militants reportedly said contraceptive use and family planning were part of a “Western agenda” aimed at controlling the Muslim population.

CHINA AND IRAN CALL AFGHANISTAN TO REMOVE RESTRICTIONS ON WOMEN’S EDUCATION AND WORK

Suhail Shaheen, head of the political office in Doha, told Fox News Digital that he was not aware of such restrictions, suggesting they could be “rumors that keep repeating themselves over and over again.”

A pedestrian stands next to women begging while waiting to cross a road near a pharmaceutical wholesale market in Kabul, Afghanistan July 12, 2020.

A pedestrian stands next to women begging while waiting to cross a road near a pharmaceutical wholesale market in Kabul, Afghanistan July 12, 2020. (Jim Heilebrook/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The midwife, who has not been named, said she was threatened several times by the Taliban, saying she was “not allowed to go out and promote the Western concept of population control, which is unnecessary work.”

IRAN BELIEVED TO RECOGNIZE SUSPECTED NEW AL-Qaeda LEADER: UN REPORT

Another store owner told The Guardian that the gunmen had ruled that “items such as birth control pills and Depo-Provera injections were not allowed to be kept in the pharmacy from the beginning of this month.” The store owner said he was too scared to try to sell the stock he had.

Two men tend to a pharmacy while Afghans go about their daily lives on November 11.  October 10, 2015 in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan.

Two men tend to a pharmacy while Afghans go about their daily lives on November 11. October 10, 2015 in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan. (Scott Peterson/Getty Images)

The new policy will be the latest step in a series of actions taken by the Taliban to limit the rights of women in the country, starting with access to education: Afghan government banned women from university education after telling Fox News’ Trey Inst that “all Afghan citizens” have the right to an education.

US DIPLOMAT APOLOGIES FOR ‘WRONG’ Tweet saying AFGHAN WOMEN NEED A ‘MOTION’ LIKE ‘BLACK GIRL MAGIC’

“All citizens of Afghanistan, regardless of their gender, have the right to education” in line with the government’s “clear” policy, a Taliban spokesman said in August 2022. The Taliban also restricted girls’ access to middle and high school.

A customer buys medicines at a pharmacy in Kabul, Afghanistan.  29, 2020.

A customer buys medicines at a pharmacy in Kabul, Afghanistan. 29, 2020. (Xinhua/Syed Mominzada via Getty Images)

Women also faced exclusion from certain areas workplaces, and in public places such as parks and gyms.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

UN Women, the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and women’s empowerment, did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment at time of publication.

Elizabeth Heckman of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.