The Taliban has issued a new directive requiring all television broadcasters to ensure that female presenters cover their faces while on air.
According to this decree, a female presenter must cover her entire face, except for her eyes.
Shamshad and Tolo News TV channels also tweeted confirming that the Taliban had asked them in the new order that “Female presenters on TVs should cover their entire faces.”
According to TOLOnews, the directive has been sent to all Afghan media outlets.
the Taliban’s Ministry for the propagation of virtue and prevention of vice has said that their new order is non-negotiable. they have also said that Hijab is God’s Order and must be obeyed without questioning.
The Taliban have been imposing violent and authoritarian restrictions on women’s lives since they took power on 15th August 2021.
Prior to this they had ordered all women in Afghanistan to cover their faces in public and stated that the homes of women who do not cover their faces should be identified first, then the women’s guardians should be warned. In case of repeated disobedience, the woman’s guardian must be imprisoned.
A video posted yesterday on the “Afghanistan Women’s Voice” YouTube channel shows that the Taliban are not allowing female university students with colored tents to enter the university.
The Taliban’s order regarding female TV presenters has provoked many reactions. Shahrzad Akbar, the former head of the Independent Human Rights Commission, tweeted and called the Taliban’s act shameful.
Rahimi, a social media user wrote on his Facebook” the most active branch of the Taliban administration is the ministry of propagation Virtue and prevention Vice which intervenes in people’s personal affairs. Afghanistan is battling an economic crisis, but the only thing that the Taliban care about is what women must wear and what size the men’s beards should be. if the Taliban continue like this, surely, they will increase the level of public discontent and will eventually shorten the life of their rule”.
