Afghanistan’s Taliban regime has begun enforcing a new order forcing the country’s TV anchors to cover their faces while on air. The measure is part of the harsh change of ultra-conservative line that has generated the condemnation of activists in favor of human rights.
Earlier this month, Afghanistan’s Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada issued a decree requiring women to fully cover themselves in public, including their faces, “ideally with the traditional burqa.”
After a brief act of rebellion, and in compliance with the new decree, presenters of the main television channels in Afghanistan appeared with their faces hidden during the broadcasts this Sunday.
After the announcement, only a handful of media outlets had complied with the imposition, as most television programs showed women with their heads covered, but with their faces visible.
However, on Sunday the presenters were seen with their faces covered after the feared Ministry of Virtue and Prevention of Vice of the Taliban movement issued a new statement that extends the “final and non-negotiable” obligation to cover the face with effect immediate.
The Taliban government put pressure on the television stations under the firm threat of firing those who will not comply with the imposed order. Mohamad Sadeq Akif Mohajir, a spokesman for the ministry, said he was “pleased that the networks have correctly exercised their responsibility.”
However, there have been some cases of resistance and solidarity. In TOLOnewsone of the most liberal television channels in Afghanistan, male presenters took to the air with their faces covered with surgical masks, in solidarity with their female companions.
Male anchors in Afghanistan presented their news bulletins wearing face masks to protest against the order imposed by the #Taliban that forces female journalists to cover their faces.
Even under the veil, Sonia Niazi, one of the media’s presenters, raised her voice against the measure imposed by the Taliban regime and promised to continue resisting:
We will come to work until the Islamic Emirate removes us from public space or forces us to stay at home.
– Sonia Niazi, TOLOnews
This veil obligation is not the only measure that restricts the freedom of Afghan women. When the Taliban regime returned to power last summer, it promised a less strict regime than when they first took over the country. However, they have gradually imposed a series of decrees that violate the rights of women and girls with respect to education, work and daily life.
TV channels have already stopped broadcasting series and movies with actresses. In the city of Herat, once considered progressive, men and women are no longer allowed to eat together in restaurants. Across the country, women are no longer allowed to work in the civil service or board a plane without the company of a male guardian, who is also responsible for their clothing.