Afghanistan: New Taliban order mandates female TV presenters to cover their faces on air

The Taliban has again passed a contentious ruling wherein it ordered female TV anchors to cover their faces on air. According to a report by Tolo News, it received an order from the Taliban’s Virtue and Vice Ministry wherein it ordered the female TV presenters to cover their faces.

The statement called the order “final and non-negotiable,” the channel said. An Afghan local media official, on the condition of anonymity, spoke to The Associated Press about receiving the decree. "The station has no other option except abiding by the order," the official said.

Following the controversial order, several female TV presenters posted their images and videos showcasing the current situation under the Taliban regime.  Yalda Ali, a prominent TOLO news presenter, posted a video of herself putting on a face mask with a caption: "A woman being erased, on orders from the Virtue and Vice Ministry." Notably, during the earlier regime of the Taliban - from 1996-to 2001 - the extremist group imposed rigorous rules for women, ranging from restricting their movements to covering their faces.

However, after ousting Ashraf Ghani's government to take retake control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban initially appeared to have moderated their restrictions, announcing no dress code for women. However, soon after they started bringing in restrictions on women, barring them from basic rights such as education. 

Earlier, in the first week of May, the Taliban passed the decree wherein it ordered all Afghan women to wear head-to-toe clothing in public. It also ordered the Afghan women to leave the home only when necessary. The decree also mentioned that male relatives would face punishment, starting with a summons and escalating up to court hearings and jail time, for women’s dress code violations.

Controversial laws not new for Afghan women 

It is worth mentioning that after taking over the leadership of the country, the Taliban made tall claims suggesting that they have changed completely as compared to the earlier regime. The extremist group promised to allow education and jobs for women. However, instead of fulfilling their promises, the Taliban barred women from educational institutions and working.

Earlier last year, it ordered to remove all the banners and posters that include a picture of a woman. While announcing the decree, the spokesman of Kabul municipality, Nematullah Barakzai, said that the Taliban has ordered to immediately remove all the signboards, billboards, and posters from local shops as well as giant shopping malls.

According to Barakzai, the Taliban cited the depiction of a woman in any kind of advertisement as being against Islamic law. Besides, it also ordered the clothing shops in Afghanistan's Herat province to "behead" female mannequins, citing the violation of contentious "Sharia" law.

(Image: AP)