On Saturday the Taliban ordered Afghan women to cover their faces in public and to avoid leaving their homes.
The decree, issued by the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice said that women must observe “proper hijab,” an Islamic concept of modesty that applies to women’s clothing whenever they are in public environments.
‘Women, unless they are very young or very old, must cover their faces except for their eyes whenever they see or meet an unrelated man,’ according to the decree.
The decree also advises women to stay home saying ‘the best way to observe hijab is to not go out unless it’s necessary.’
Akif Muhajir, spokesman for the ministry, said women can either wear the traditional Afghan blue burqa with a lace net over the eyes, or a niqab, a black veil with an open slit for the eyes.
Punishments for repeat offenders include jail time for women’s male relatives. The few female civil servants still working will be fired if they break the rules.
Marwa Stanikzai, a 32-year-old female dentist, said the Taliban ‘are bringing women back to the Stone Age. I am a doctor, I am well-educated and I know that none of these rules are in the Quran’.
Najla Mastoor, an 18-year-old, said ‘If our hijab distracts men, the Taliban should control men, not women’. ‘Us women are always paying the price for men.’
Restrictions on women make it harder for Afghanistan to receive political recognition and the financial assistance it needs to address its devastating economic crisis.
In March the Taliban reneged on their promise to reopen high schools for girls. The World Bank suspended development projects worth $600 million. No country has yet recognised the Taliban government as legitimate.