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&qu