without a mahram or without wearing a burqa. Women should not wear high-heeled shoes as no man should hear a woman's footsteps lest it excite him. Women must not speak loudly in public as no stranger should hear a woman's voice. All street-level windows should be painted over or screened to prevent women from being visible from the street. Photographing, filming and displaying pictures of girls and women in newspapers, books, shops or the home was banned. The modification of any place names that included the word "women". For example, "women's garden" was renamed "spring garden". Women were forbidden to appear on the balconies of their apartments or houses. Ban on women's presence on radio, television or at public gatherings of any kind. Women were not allowed to wash the laundry at the river banks, if found, the woman was to be brought into the custody of a male guardian who was supposed to severely punish her. Mobility The Taliban rulings regarding public conduct placed severe restrictions on a woman's freedom of movement and created difficulties for those who could not afford a burqa (which was not commonly worn in Afghanistan prior to the rise of the Taliban and considered a fairly expensive garment at upwards of ) or did not have any mahram. These women faced virtual house arrest. In December 1998, a decree issued by the Ministry for the promotion of Virtue and prevention of Vice banned taxi drivers to transport women who did not completely cover their faces. A woman who was badly beaten by the Taliban for walking the streets alone stated "my father was killed in battle ... I have no husband, no brother, no son. How am I to live if I can't go out alone?" A field worker for the NGO Terre des hommes witnessed the impact on female mobility at Kabul's largest state-run orphanage, Taskia Maskan. After the female staff was relieved of their duties, the approximately 400 girls living at the institution were locked inside for a year without being allowed outside for recreation. Decrees that affected women's mobility were: Ban on women riding bicycles or motorcycles, even with their mahrams. Women were forbidden to ride in a taxi without a mahram. Segregated bus services introduced to prevent males and females travelling on the same bus. The lives of rural women were less dramatically affected as they generally lived and worked