New reports coming out of Afghanistan reveal that the Taliban has now enforced a new order making it compulsory for all female TV news anchors in the nation to cover their faces while on air. The order was reportedly given on May 19, 2022, and a few news outlets complied immediately. By May 22, however, most women presenters of Afghanistan’s news channels were seen with their faces covered.
Reports suggest this compliance came about after the Taliban’s Vice and Virtue Ministry began enforcing the order strictly. Their Information and Culture Ministry, on the other hand, has announced that the policy is “final and non-negotiable”. They have also added that women can wear a medical mask in case they don’t want to cover their faces.
Reactions to this new order indicate it’s not welcome by most of the women it’s targeted towards. “It is just an outside culture imposed on us, forcing us to wear a mask, and that can create a problem for us while presenting our programs,” Sonia Niazi, an anchor with TOLOnews told Al Jazeera, adding that for the first time she “wasn’t feeling good at all” about presenting her programmes.
As an act of solidarity with their female colleagues, Niazi’s male colleagues reportedly also covered their faces with masks, including during the main news segment. This new order follows in the wake of another one from early May, where the Taliban ordered all women to wear head-to-toe clothing that covers everything but the eyes. This decree also added that women should leave home only when necessary, and male relatives would be held liable for women’s dress code violations and punished accordingly.
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