Female announcers from several major TV channels in Afghanistan appeared on television on Saturday without covering their faces, despite the Taliban’s order to do so.
The so-called Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has called on Afghan TV channels to impose a dress code from Saturday. Previously, female television journalists were only required to wear a headscarf.
However, TOLOnews, Shamshad TV and 1TV all broadcast live shows in which the faces of the presenters were not covered. “Our female colleagues are worried that if they cover their faces now, the next step is for them to be told to stop working,” Abed Ehsas, editor-in-chief of Shamshad TV, told AFP. France Press agency†
A spokesman for the ministry indicated, Saturday, that the women risk expulsion if they do not comply with the order. Men also run the risk of losing their jobs if their wives or daughters go against the dress code.
Fewer women’s rights
At the beginning of this month, Afghan women were ordered by decree to wear the burqa in public, as happened during the first Taliban regime between 1996 and 2001. During that regime, women were also not allowed to work or go to school.
After taking power in August, the extremist Islamic organization said it intended to respect women’s rights in Afghanistan. However, in recent months it has been announced that girls’ education will be banned.
Afghan women have also been banned from appearing on TV soap operas since November, and since March they are only allowed to board the plane if they are accompanied by a male family member. All kinds of restrictions on women were reinstated, especially at the local level.
