If women ignore the decree, their close male relatives and friends could be imprisoned
Afghanistan’s supreme leader and Taliban chief has announced that all women must wear an all-covering burqa in public.
On Saturday, May 7, Afghanistan’s de facto leader Hibatullah Akhundzada made the controversial announcement despite previous pledges to maintain Afghan women’s rights.
“They should wear a chadori (head-to-toe burqa) as it is traditional and respectful,” said a decree issued by Akhundzada that was released by Taliban officials at a function in the country’s capital of Kabul. Should women ignore the decree, their close male relatives could be imprisoned.
New commander to takeover the nation of #Afghanistan on #September1st2021 Taliban’s supreme leader Mullah #HibatullahAkhundzad
ھیبت الله اخوندزاده
Who is well-known for his fatwas on #Talibanmatters & served as the head of the #Shariacourts of the #IslamicEmirate of Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/hpLr6CHvjh— MM (@MM3HUSSAIN) August 30, 2021
According to AlaraBiya News, the decree continued: “Those women who are not too old or young must cover their face, except the eyes, as per sharia directives, in order to avoid provocation when meeting men who are not mahram (adult close male relatives).”
The decree also stated that if women had no important work, they “better they stay at home.”
Ideally, the Taliban wanted women to wear an all-encompassing blue burqa, which became a symbol of the Taliban regime from 1996 to 2001, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Just yesterday, reports suggested that the Taliban had stopped issuing driver’s licenses to women. While the Taliban have not confirmed anything, local news outlets report that verbal commands were given.
#AFG Taliban have suspended issuing driving licences to women in Afghanistan. While Saudi Arabia continues with its modernisation drive, the Taliban continue to engage in regressive and non- priority issues. There must be more important issues facing Afghanistan than this matter. pic.twitter.com/tufDhNCbIZ
— BILAL SARWARY (@bsarwary) May 3, 2022
“We have been verbally instructed to stop issuing licences to women drivers… but not directed to stop women from driving in the city,” Jan Agha Achakzai, the head of Herat’s Traffic Management Institute that oversees driving schools, was quoted as saying to AFP on May 3.
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