The Taliban has once again taken a U-turn by ordering Afghani women to cover their faces in public spaces. This order was taken just after girls were barred from entering schools.
Many anticipate that the worst is yet to come considering that the Taliban is increasing the restriction on women. The international community and many Afghans have condemned the steps taken by Taliban in the recent months.
“They should wear a Chadori (head-to-toe burqa) as it is traditional and respectful,” said a decree released by Taliban chief Haibatullah Akhunzada at a function in Kabul on Saturday.
A spokesperson read the decree from Akhunzada for the Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and Propagation of Virtue at a media conference. The order stated that if women did not cover their faces in public, their close male relatives would face imprisonment or be laid off from government jobs.
The decree also states that the ideal clothing for covering the face is the burqa and has been referred to as a global symbol of the Taliban’s hardline views regarding women’s participation in society by external analysts.
The Taliban has reminiscent of their rulings from the 1990s by reintroducing draconian restrictions on movement and freedom of Afghanis and women in particular since taking over Afghanistan. Some of the restrictions also bare women from travelling abroad and accessing healthcare.
Kate Clark, a researcher at the Afghanistan Analysts Network, said that “Many months into their reign of power in Afghanistan, the Taliban have imposed one of the most iconic aspects of their rule from the 1990s, which is forcing women to cover their faces in public, and it’s clearly aimed at controlling women who have been the most troublesome section of the population,”.
A group of 36 UN human rights experts pointed out that the Taliban is institutionalising systematic violence and gender-based discrimination against women.
“We are concerned about the continuous and systematic efforts to exclude women from the country’s social, economic, and political spheres,” the experts said in a press release.
The Taliban has repeatedly defied the international community and has constantly violated international human rights laws. However, many experts believe that the worst is yet to come and has called for international condemnation of the Taliban’s action.
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