oppression
Taliban require women to wear burqas in public in Afghanistan
That’s how the Taliban want it: A burqa also covers the wearer’s eyes with a kind of fabric grid.
© Petros Giannakouris / Associated Press / Picture Alliance
In Afghanistan, women will have to wear a burqa in public. This is “traditional and respectful,” says a decree by Taliban chief Achundsada.
The radical Islamic Taliban have further restricted the rights of women in Afghanistan: In future, Taliban chief Hibatullah Achundsada has ordered Afghan women to wear a burqa in public again. They should wear the full body covering “since it is traditional and respectful,” Achundsada said in a decree on Saturday. It is one of the strictest restrictions on the lives of Afghan women since the Islamists took power again last August.
“Those women who are not too old or too young must cover their face, except for the eyes, in accordance with Sharia guidelines,” the decree says. In this way, “provocations” should be avoided in encounters with men who are not close relatives. Women should also “better stay at home” if they don’t have important matters to attend to outside the home.
The burqa, which also covers the wearer’s eyes with a kind of fabric grid, was already compulsory for women during the first Islamist rule. Since taking power in August, wearing the burqa has only been recommended. The hijab, a headscarf that leaves the face exposed, was already mandatory. Especially in rural areas, however, many women in the deeply conservative and patriarchal country were already wearing the full body covering.
The feared Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice has issued several “guidelines” for women’s clothing in recent months. Saturday’s decree was the first such nationwide order.
Taliban continue to restrict women’s freedoms
After taking power, the Islamists promised a more moderate government than during their 1996-2001 rule. In recent months, however, numerous women’s freedoms have been curtailed. The secondary schools for girls were first opened and closed again after a few hours.
Tens of thousands of women who had worked for the government lost their jobs. Women are only allowed to leave the country when accompanied by a male relative. They were also instructed to visit parks in the Afghan capital on separate days from the men.
A few Afghan women had demonstrated against the restrictions. However, the Taliban took strict action against the unauthorized rallies and arrested several of the initiators.