Burqa ideal face covering, says Taliban’s hijab decree

KABUL (Pajhwok) : The Taliban on Saturday ruled women must cover their faces in public, according to a decree from the group's supreme leader, calling the all encompassing burqa the ideal face covering.

A decree from Taliban supreme leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhunzada was read out at a press conference in Kabul by a spokesman for the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.

A woman's father or closest male relative would be visited and eventually imprisoned or fired from government jobs if she did not cover her face outside the home.

According to the decree, every garment used for covering the body is hijab but the garment should not be thin and fit to show body parts.

The vice and virtue ministry has been tasked with implementing the hijab decree which says it is mandatory and must for adult Muslim women to wear Islamic hijab.

The decree said that the chador, which has been a part of Afghan culture for centuries, is the best form of sharia hijab.

Women who are not old or young in terms of age must cover their faces except the eyes when confronted by non-mahram men in accordance with Shariah guidelines.

It was said that the people should be informed about the importance and benefits of hijab and the disadvantages of non-hijab through media and pulpits.

The decree said the first time a woman refusing to wear hijab should be identified and her guardian should be advised. In case of re-violation, the guardian should he be summoned to the relevant department and for third time violation, the guardian should he be detained for three days and for the fourth time should be handed over to the courts so that he can be sentenced accordingly.

Women who work in the relevant organs of the emirate and do not observe the hijab should be fired and those government employees whose women relatives do not observe the hijab should be suspended.

Sheikh Khalid Hanafi, Acting Minister of Vice and Virtue and Complaints Hearing, told the press conference that the decree on hijab was a law and should be implemented.

“The Islamic Emirate does not want to implement the hijab on people by force, it will be done through advice,” he said.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, told the gathering that the hijab would be carefully implemented and no one would be threatened.

He said that 99 percent of women in the country wore hijab and the remaining one percent will be encouraged to wear hijab.

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