Taliban orders Afghan women to wear niqab in public

In a decree issued at a ceremony in Kabul, the supreme leader of the Taliban and Afghanistan, Hebatullah Akhundzadeh, ordered women to completely cover their bodies and faces in public, saying that the burqa, a network of full blue headscarves at eye level, was the best option for this.

Women should wear Shadri [autre nom de la burqa]Because it is traditional and respectableindicates this decree.

A woman who is neither young nor old should cover her face except her eyes in accordance with the recommendations of the Shariah, in order to avoid any provocation when meeting a man. who are not close family members, he adds.

And if they don’t have a reason to go out, it is It is better for them to stay at home.

This decree also lists the penalties for heads of families who do not require the full veil. The first offenders will be punished with a simple warning. On the third day, they will be sentenced to three days’ imprisonment, and on the fourth day they will be brought to justice.

In addition, any government employee who does not wear a full veil will be fired immediately.

Islam never recommended Shadrireplied to AFP, a women’s rights activist who remained in Afghanistan, on the condition of anonymity.

The Taliban, rather than being progressive, is holding back. They act like their first diet, as they were 20 years agoshe added.

Actions denounced by the United States and the United Nations

The United States has denounced these new restrictions, Seriously concerned about the undermining of the rights of Afghan women and girls and the progress made in this area over the past twenty yearsAccording to a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The United Nations also condemned this decision. she Contrasted with many assertions regarding the protection of human rights for all Afghans presented to the international community by Taliban representatives in recent years, insists in a press release of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

flash back

since The Taliban will return to power in August 2021The Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice has issued several recommendations on how to dress for women, but this is the first decree in the matter to be issued at the national level.

The Taliban had demanded it until now That the woman wears at least a headscarf, a scarf that covers the head, but that exposes the face. However, they strongly recommended the wearing of the burqa, which they made compulsory when they first came to power between 1996 and 2001.

Under their first regime, they denied women nearly all rights, according to their strict interpretation of Islamic law.

Undersecretaries of the Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice lashed any woman who was caught without a burqa.

fake promises

After their return to power, after 20 years of occupation by the United States and its allies, which expelled them in 2001, the Taliban promised to be more flexible this time.

Soon they reneged on their promises.

Afghan women are now largely excluded from government jobs It is forbidden to travel abroad Or for a long distance within the country without being accompanied by a male family member.

In March, two students closed girls’ high schools and colleges just hours after their long-announced reopening. This unexpected talk, which had no justification other than saying that the education of girls must be carried out in accordance with Islamic law, Expose the international community.

The Taliban also enforced segregation of women and men in Kabul’s public parks, with visiting days reserved for both genders.

Saturday’s decree may further complicate the Taliban’s quest for international recognition, which the international community has linked directly to respect for women’s rights.

” It is an unexpected setback that will not help the Taliban gain international recognition. Such moves will only escalate opposition to it. »

Over the past two decades, Afghan women have gained new freedoms, returning to school or applying for jobs in all sectors of activity, even if the country remains socially conservative.

Women first tried to assert their rights by demonstrating in Kabul and in major cities after the Taliban returned to power.

However, this one has The movement was fiercely suppressed, Several activists were arrested and some were detained for several weeks, sometimes.

The burqa is a traditional Afghani piece of clothing, widely worn in remote and conservative parts of the country. Even before the Taliban’s return to power, the vast majority of Afghan women were veiled, if only with a loose headscarf.