Women workers must cover up 'even with a blanket', say Afghan Taliban
Women in Afghanistan
Womenworking inAfghangovernment departmentsmustcoverup--evenwith ablanketif necessary -- or they may lose their jobs, theTaliban's religious police said Tuesday.
Mostwomenhave been barred from their government jobs, since theTalibanretook power in August, though Afghanistan's new rulers claim they will be allowed to return once some conditions are in place -- such as segregated offices.
On Tuesday, the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice issued a statement sayingwomenshould not go to work unless they were properly covered, and they could be fired if they did not follow guidelines.
The ministry earned notoriety during theTaliban's first stint in power from 1996 to 2001 for policing the leadership's strict interpretation of Islam.
It was unclear why they issued Tuesday's statement, as mostwomenin Afghanistan have always covered their heads in public -- with a loose shawl at least.
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"They can follow the hijab the way they want," ministry spokesman Mohammad Sadeq Akif Muhajir told AFP when reached for clarification.
Womenworking inAfghangovernment departmentsmustcoverup--evenwith ablanketif necessary -- or they may lose their jobs, theTaliban's religious police said Tuesday.
Mostwomenhave been barred from their government jobs, since theTalibanretook power in August, though Afghanistan's new rulers claim they will be allowed to return once some conditions are in place -- such as segregated offices.
On Tuesday, the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice issued a statement sayingwomenshould not go to work unless they were properly covered, and they could be fired if they did not follow guidelines.
The ministry earned notoriety during theTaliban's first stint in power from 1996 to 2001 for policing the leadership's strict interpretation of Islam.
It was unclear why they issued Tuesday's statement, as mostwomenin Afghanistan have always covered their heads in public -- with a loose shawl at least.
"They can follow the hijab the way they want," ministry spokesman Mohammad Sadeq Akif Muhajir told AFP when reached for clarification.