How Taliban got women TV presenters to cover their faces

The Taliban in Afghanistan has imposed one more restriction on women. This time, on target are the women news anchors.  They have been ordered by the Taliban officials to completely cover their faces while reading news.

The order, which came on Thursday May 19, 2022, was met with some protests as women anchors had defied the order. But, on May 22, 2022, women anchors were seen wearing hijab in the studios as Taliban officials had reportedly threatened them.

“This decree is unpredictable for all female presenters because Islam has not commanded us to cover our faces,” Sonia Nazia, TV anchor with Afghanistan’s TOLO news told Al Jazeera.

She said that it is a culture imposed on women anchors, forcing them to wear a mask that can create problems while working. She added that now she 'doesn’t feel good at all'.

Earlier this month, Taliban’s supreme leader Hibatullah Akhunzada had issued a diktat to all women in Afghanistan to cover their faces in public.

WHAT TALIBAN SAYS?

Spokesman for the Vice Ministry, Mohammad Sadeq Akif Mohajir, said that women anchors who defy the orders of Taliban will be dealt with strictly.

'If they don’t comply, we will talk to the managers and guardians of the presenters,' Sadiq told AFP.

The news agency also reported that Taliban has said that women government employees will be fired if they fail to follow the dress code.

Men working in government officers may be suspended or imposed with penalties if their daughters or wives refuse to follow the orders.

WHY THESE RESTRICTIONS?

The Taliban officials had earlier promised to be moderate towards women in their new stint. But, in the last 2-3 months, the Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has ordered several restrictions on women.

For example, women in Afghanistan now cannot travel alone on long-distances without a male relative. Similarly, women cannot attend higher secondary schools as Taliban say there is a shortage of female teachers.

The Taliban has also laid restrictions on women going to parks. As per the orders from Taliban, women can visit parks only on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

WHEN DID IT START?

Women were banned from working and attending schools during the first stint of Taliban from 1996-2001. But, after the group was dethroned from power by American forces after 9/11, women gained space in public life.

But, ever since the hardline Islamist group took over power in Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, they have attempted to fully implement the Shariah law.

The recent restrictions on men and women are part of the same system that the group follows. For example, men in government offices are ordered to keep beard and wear traditional Afghani clothes that doesn't cover their ankles.