Women not wearing hijab ‘trying to look like animals’, says Taliban
The religious police of the Taliban have put up posters across the southern Afghan city of Kandahar saying that Muslim women who do not wear an Islamic hijab that fully covers their bodies are “trying to look like animals.”
The foreign news agency reports that since taking power in August, the Taliban have imposed strict sanctions on Afghan women and withdrawn the modest gains of two decades after the US invaded the country and overthrew the previous Taliban government.
In May, Taliban leader and Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada issued a fatwa stating that women should generally stay at home.
Women were ordered to cover their bodies, including their faces, if they needed to go out.
This week, the Taliban’s Ministry of ‘Amar bil Maroof Wa Nahi Anal Munkir’, which enforces the strict Islamic teachings, put up posters with pictures of hijab in Kandahar City.
The posters read, “Muslim women who do not wear hijab are trying to look like animals.”
Such posters have been affixed to billboards in many cafes and shops, as well as in the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar.
According to the posters, wearing short, tight and showy clothes is also against the fatwa of Hibatullah Akhundzada.
A spokesperson for the ministry in Kabul could not be reached for comment, but a senior local official confirmed the posters had been affixed.
“We have put up these posters and for women whose faces are not covered in public, we will inform their families and take action as per the fatwa,” said Abdul Rehman Taybi, head of the ministry in Kandahar.
In the fatwa of Hibatullah Akhundzada, the concerned authorities have been ordered to suspend the male relatives of the women who do not comply with these orders.
Under the Taliban’s first regime, women were required to wear the burqa, which is still common outside of Kabul.
