KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – Taliban leaders in Afghanistan ordered all Afghan women to wear leggings in public on Saturday, confirming the greatest fears of human rights activists and further straining relations with the Taliban. The suspicious international community.
An ordinance urging women to show only their eyes and advising them to wear a burqa on their feet led to similar restrictions for women during the previous Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001.
“We want our sisters to live in dignity and security,” said Khalid Hanafi, Taliban vice president and interim minister of virtues.
The Taliban had earlier decided not to open schools for girls above the sixth grade, rejected a previous promise and decided to soften their solid base at the expense of further isolation from the international community.
The decision thwarted the Taliban’s attempts to gain recognition from potential international donors at a time when the country was mired in a worsening humanitarian crisis.
“Every respectable Afghan woman has to wear a hijab, and the best hijab is the chador (head-to-toe burqa), which is part of our tradition and full of respect,” said Shir Mohammad, spokesman for Ministry of Virtue. declaration.
“Women who are not too old or young should cover their faces, except for their eyes,” she said.
The ordinance states that if women do not have meaningful outside work, it is best for them to stay home. “The principles of Islam and Islamic ideology are very important to us,” Hanafi said.
The Taliban was ousted in 2001 by the US-led coalition for ousting al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and returned to power after a chaotic departure from the United States last year.
Since coming to power in August, the Taliban leadership has been at odds with each other as they struggle to move from war to government. The tough line against the more pragmatic opposes him,
Many Afghans are outraged to learn that many of the younger generations of the Taliban, such as Sirajuddin Hakan, are educating their girls in Pakistan, while in Afghanistan women and girls have been targeted by their repressive targets. ordinance after taking power.
After the return of the Taliban, in most of the country, girls were banned from school outside the sixth grade. Universities opened in most of the country earlier this year, but Taliban ordinances have not been stable since they came to power. While some provinces continue to provide education for all, most provinces have closed educational institutions for women and girls.
The religiously-led Taliban administration fears that enrolling girls above the sixth grade could separate them from their village base, Hashimi said.
Private schools and universities in the capital Kabul continue to operate.
Source: Huffpost