Taliban order women, girls to wear burqa in Afghanistan

Kabul, May 7 (EFE).- The Taliban on Saturday issued new rules making the burqa full-body covering compulsory for Afghanistan’s women and girls in public.

The ruling from the Taliban’s all-powerful ministry of virtue and vice prevention said that while 99% of women in Afghanistan already wore hijab, there was “no excuse” for the others.

It added that hijab referred to clothes that cover the entire body and that the burqa was the “best version.”

The Taliban stated that female employees of official institutions who refuse to adhere to the clothing rules will be fired from their jobs.

If a woman refuses to adopt the dress code in public, the Taliban said security agents would be sent to their household to advise the “male guardian” — her father, brother or husband.

Continued violation of the religious law would see that “male guardian” detained for three days.

Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of United States troops in August last year, the hardline Islamist group has overturned the rights of women in various ways from preventing girls from attending high school and segregating public space to banning women from traveling alone without a male companion.

The Taliban at first pledged to preserve women’s rights in Afghanistan but recent measures are increasingly in line with the strict policies the group introduced during its previous rule of the country between 1996-2001, when women were forced to remain at home without the option to work or study. EFE

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