Afghanistan Taliban

A new edict ruling that all women must wear a face veil in public or risk punishment was extended to TV presenters from Saturday, meaning they now have to ...

Ms Niazi and her colleague Khatereh Ahmadi wore the coverings after the Taliban extended rules forcing women to cover their faces in public to TV presenters The move by the Taliban has been heavily criticised by women in the Afghan TV industry, who have been told they could be sacked if they refuse to comply Women on TV in Afghanistan have presented programmes wearing hijabs, but a new edict ruling that all women must wear a face veil in public or risk punishment was extended to TV presenters from Saturday, meaning they now have to cover their mouths and nose as well. Female TV presenters in Afghanistan have appeared on air with their faces covered after the Taliban ordered them to do so or face punishment. Female TV presenters and reporters in Afghanistan forced to cover their faces on air after new Taliban order - Female news presenters in Afghanistan are being made to cover their face on TV

Women presenters on Afghanistan's leading news channels went on air Sunday with their faces covered, a day after defying a Taliban order to conceal their ...

"I was called on the telephone yesterday and was told in strict words to do it. In the 20 years after the Taliban were ousted from office in 2001, many women in the conservative countryside continued to wear a burqa. You must do it. There is no other way'," Sapai told AFP. But the presenters defied the order and went on air with their faces visible, only to fall in line with the directive on Sunday. Since seizing power last year, the Taliban have imposed a slew of restrictions on civil society, many focused on reining in the rights of women and girls to comply with the group's austere brand of Islam.

Female TV news anchors are being told they must wear face coverings when presenting live on air in Afghanistan.

The country’s Information and Culture Ministry said that the ruling was “final and non-negotiable”. “TOLOnews was compelled and we were forced to wear it.” The Taliban said the ruling was “non-negotiable” and is now being strictly enforced by the Government.

Khatereh Ahmadi a TV anchor wears a face covering as she reads the news on TOLOnews, in Kabul, Afghanistan. (The Associated Press).

Start your Independent Premium subscription today. The Taliban was last in power in Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 and imposed many restrictions on women, such as requiring them to wear the burqa - a loose garment covering the entire body including the eyes - in public and barring them from education. The order is a part of many limitations placed on Afghanistan’s women and girls by the Taliban since the group took over the country in August 2021 after US forces left the nation.

Most female presenters were seen with their faces covered while on air on Sunday. Khatereh Ahmadi a TV anchor wears a face covering as she reads the news on ...

Earlier this month, the Taliban ordered all women to wear head-to-toe clothing in public that leaves only their eyes visible. After the order was announced Thursday, only a handful of news outlets complied. “I believe the Taliban are [focusing on women’s outfits] to shift the public focus from the main issues the country is suffering from, including the economic crisis that the Taliban have not been able to even issue one decree to tackle that, to growing corruption, to the war,” Koofi said. During the Taliban’s last time in power in Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, they imposed overwhelming restrictions on women, requiring them to wear the all-encompassing burqa and barring them from public life and education. He spoke on the condition that he and his station remain anonymous for fear of retribution from Taliban authorities. Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have started to enforce a new order requiring all female TV news anchors in the country to cover their faces while on air.