[A poster ordering women to cover up is seen at a gate of Kabul's airport. Taliban sources said that the decision was taken after a closed-door meeting of the movement's top leaders last week in Kandahar, the de facto power centre of the group. (Photo by= AFP/File/Wakil KOHSAR)]

KABUL: The Taliban have ordered airlines in Afghanistan to stop women from flying unless accompanied by a male relative, in the latest crackdown on basic human rights by the country's new rulers since seizing power. The hardline Islamists have imposed sweeping restrictions on freedoms, mostly targeting Afghan girls and women, and on Sunday (Mar 27) also ordered local television channels to stop broadcasting BBC news bulletins, AFP reported.
 
Over the weekend, they also decreed that men and women could not visit parks in the capital on the same day. Women are increasingly being shut out of public life - barred from school and most government jobs and ordered to dress according to the Taliban's strict interpretation of the Koran. In their latest crackdown, the Taliban ordered Afghanistan's Ariana Afghan Airlines and Kam Air to stop women from boarding flights unless they were escorted by a "mahram", or adult male relative.  The decision was taken after a meeting on Thursday between representatives of the Taliban, the two airlines, and Kabul airport immigration authorities, aviation officials told AFP.

Meanwhile, several Afghan women activists have warned of nationwide protests if the schools were not open within a week. Rina Amiri, the US special envoy to Afghanistan, said repressing Afghan women and girls was no substitute for governance.