The Taliban orders all Afghan women to cover their faces in public
Over two decades after 9/11 and George W. Bush's invasion of Afghanistan to overthrow the Taliban - which included officials arguing for the need (among other reasons offered) to secure women's rights in Central Asia - we've now come full circle...
According to the Associated Press, "Afghanistan's Taliban leadership orders all Afghan women to wear the all-covering burqa in public," citing a new Saturday ruling.
This means that women will no longer be able to show their faces in public. The burqa, which is now required, goes far beyond the hijab, which is typical in Sunni Islam and merely covers the hair; instead, the burqa prevents any skin, including that on the face, from being exposed at all. In hardline Islamic communities, this is frequently accompanied by gloves covering the hands.
The ruling, which reverts to the strict public code that existed prior to the US toppling the Taliban and installing its own national coalition (and more "democratic" secular-leaning) leaders, returns to the Taliban's mediaeval style Islam.
Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada, the man identified as the Islamic Emirate's supreme leader, confirmed a statement issued by the "Vice and Virtue Ministry" (which, ironically, had previously been known as the "Ministry of Women's Affairs"), which reads as follows:
...hijab is an obligation in Islam, and any dress that covers the body that is not "thin and tight" can be considered hijab.
When it comes to the type of covering or hijab that women must wear, the statement states that the burka is the best option "because it is part of Afghan culture and has been used for ages."
The statement, titled "the descriptive and achievable plan on legitimate hijab," also advises women not to leave the house unless absolutely necessary, calling it one of the best ways to observe hijab.
Perhaps all that remains is to remind the reader of the enormous cost in blood and treasure (for both Americans and Afghans, as well as allied coalition forces) of the so-called "Global War on Terror20+ "'s year duration.
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