The Taliban forces women to cover their faces when going out

The Taliban forces women to cover their faces when going out, preferably wearing a burqa – Photo: REUTERS

This is yet another escalation in restrictive measures against women in public places that have been met with backlash from the international community and many Afghans.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Virtue Propaganda and Crime Prevention – dubbed the “moral police” of the Taliban – read the resolution from the supreme leadership at a press conference in Kabul.

Accordingly, the father or male relative closest to the woman will be examined and even jailed or fired from a government job if the woman does not cover her face when going out.

The resolution says the ideal way to cover the face is to wear a burqa – a long, full-length blue dress that covers the face from head to toe.

Although most women in Afghanistan wear headscarves for religious reasons, many in large cities, such as Kabul, often don’t cover their faces.

When they returned to power, the Taliban said they had changed, but introduced restrictions on women, including restrictions on unaccompanied men and banning men and women from traveling. park at the same time, prohibiting underage girls from going to school.