Earlier this month, the Taliban’s supreme leader issued an order that women must cover themselves fully in public, including their faces.
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The presenters of the main Afghan television channels went on the air on Saturday, May 21, live, without covering their faces. They thus defied the order of the Taliban to hide their appearance and thus submit to the austere vision of Islam that they defend. “Our colleagues fear that if they cover their faces, the next thing they will be told is to stop working”, explained Abid Ehsas, chief information officer of Shamshad TV. Mohammad Sadeq Akif Mohajir, spokesperson for the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, warned that the women were violating the directive. “If they don’t comply, we will talk to those responsible”he told AFP.
On Sunday, they finally turned around. To present the newspapers on the TOLOnews, Ariana Television, Shamshad TV and 1TV channels, the presenters wore the full veil, revealing only their eyes and forehead. “We resisted and were against the port” of the full veil, assured AFP Sonia Niazi, a presenter of TOLOnews. “But TOLOnews was pressured, [les talibans] said that any presenter who appeared on screen without a face covering should be given another job.”
Since returning to power last year, the Taliban have imposed a series of insidious restrictions on civil society, many of which are aimed at limiting women’s rights. Earlier this month, the Taliban’s supreme leader issued an order that women must cover themselves fully in public, including the face, ideally with the traditional burqa. Previously, only a scarf covering the hair was enough. The Ministry for Promoting Virtue and Preventing Vice had ordered TV presenters to comply by Saturday.