Afghan Women Reject Taliban Decree That Women Must Wear Head-to-Toe Coverings

Afghan Women Reject Taliban Decree That Women Must Wear Head-to-Toe Coverings
FMF Staff | May 16, 2022


A new Taliban decree requires Afghan women to cover themselves from head to toe, and deputizes men to force women to follow the rule.

In the eight months since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, the group has reinstated its repressive rules in full force, specifically targeting women and girls. Among many restrictions introduced, secondary school-age girls have been restricted from schools, women public servants have been removed from their jobs, women can no longer travel alone, and public and academic spaces have become limited and segregated.

With the Taliban’s latest decree issued Saturday, women are now required to cover themselves from head to toe—preferably using a burka. The burka is a blue garment, long considered emblematic of the Taliban oppression of women in Afghanistan. The new edict from the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice goes beyond targeting women on the street. It also officially deputizes men to force women to follow the rules, punishing the male guardian for failing to force the women of the family to abide by the new ruling.
. . . .
Adding Fuel to the Domestic Violence Crisis

Domestic violence has already been exacerbated by the ongoing humanitarian and economic crisis—and this edict further adds fuel to the fire, requiring men to enforce the decree under threat of Taliban persecution.

The Taliban Edict About Women in Education Is Not Islamic or Cultural

The Taliban’s edicts dictating women and girls’ place in daily life—from barring them from education to demanding full coverage including the face and hands—have no precedence in Afghanistan or any other Muslim-majority country. For years, the Taliban restricted women’s rights and justified their actions under the guise of Islam, which is consistently met with a backlash from global Islamic scholars and advocates. With each subsequent edict, the Taliban further removes Afghan women from public life. With other crises around the world, Afghan people, particularly women, are disappointed at the world looking the other way in silence. Without women as full members of society, there can be no peace and stability in Afghanistan.

https://feminist.org/news/afghan-women-reject-taliban-decree-that-women-must-wear-head-to-toe-coverings/