Taliban leadership in Afghanistan ordered all Afghan women to wear all-covering clothing in public on Saturday.
The new decree, reported by ABC News, says women should only leave the house when necessary and that dress-code violations may lead to male relatives facing jail time. The order follows one issued by Taliban leadership last month, making it so women couldn’t travel alone—which has since been ignored to an extent, per ABC.
“This decision contradicts numerous assurances regarding respect for and protection of all Afghans’ human rights, including those of women and girls, that had been provided to the international community by Taliban representatives during discussions and negotiations over the past decade,” the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan shared in a statement, adding that’ll it’ll get some clarification with the Taliban on the order.
Women are now being called to wear a head-to-toe burqa and cover everything except their eyes, which mirrors a Taliban order that lasted between 1996 and 2001.
“Those women who are not too old or young must cover their face, except the eyes,” Shir Mohammad, an official from the vice and virtue ministry, said in a statement. “Islamic principles and Islamic ideology are more important to us than anything else.”
The White House National Security Council is now urging the Taliban to reverse the order, adding that the U.S. is “discussing this with other countries and partners.”
“The legitimacy and support that the Taliban seeks from the international community depend entirely on their conduct, specifically their ability to back stated commitments with actions,” a statement read.
Silvia Redigolo, a spokesperson for Pangea, an Italian organization that has assisted women in Afghanistan, told ABC that women in Afghanistan have losing “the awareness of human rights” that they’ve had over the last 20 years, and that it’s “dramatic to [now] have a life that doesn’t exist.” Adding to that, since the Taliban’s return, girls above grade 6 have been banned from school in different areas of the country, and most provinces closed schools for girls and women.
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