The leadership of the Afghan Taliban has ordered all Afghan women to wear a burqa in public places, the Associated Press reported, citing the Ministry of Dissemination of Virtues and Eradication of Vices.
“We want our sisters to live with dignity and safety,” said Khalid Hanafi, Acting the line minister in the Taliban government.
The mandatory wearing of the burqa was also announced at the behest of Taliban leader Haybatullah Ahunzada, who was introduced to the media. It says that “women who are not very young and not very old” should cover their faces in front of all men who are not members of the family. “Therefore, the recommendations are to wear a burqa, a garment covering women from head to toe with only an eye opening.
Such restrictions on the way women should dress existed during the previous hardline Taliban rule between 1996 and 2001.
After coming to power again last year, the Taliban decided not to open schools for girls over 6th grade. They backed away from their promise not to hinder the girls from studying and decided to meet the demands of the hard core among their supporters at the expense of their even greater isolation from the international community. The decision thwarted the Taliban’s attempts to have its rule recognized by international financial donors at a time when Afghanistan is in a growing humanitarian crisis. The international community has called on the Taliban leadership to reopen schools.
The Taliban have ordered government officials to grow beards
The Taliban have instructed all government officials in Afghanistan to grow beards and adhere to their dress code. If they do not obey, they will be fired, Reuters reported, citing three known sources.
Representatives of the Ministry of Virtue and Prevention guard the entrances to government offices and check that employees meet the new rules.
Civil servants were instructed not to shave their beards and to dress according to local tradition – with long robes, wearing turbans or hats.
They were also instructed to pray at the appointed hours of the day.
Last week, the Taliban did not open schools for girls as promised and banned women from boarding unaccompanied men.
The United States has left $ 7 billion worth of military equipment in Afghanistan
About $ 7 billion in military equipment that the United States has transferred to the Afghan government for 16 years remains in Afghanistan after the United States completed its withdrawal in August, according to a report by the US Department of Defense. at the request of Congress, CNN reported.
The equipment is now in a country controlled by the same enemy the United States has been trying to drive out for the past two decades: the Taliban.
The defense ministry has no plans to return to Afghanistan to “retrieve or destroy” the equipment, according to a report submitted to Congress.
According to the report, from 2005 to August 2021, the United States provided the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) with equipment totaling $ 18.6 billion. Of that total, $ 7.12 billion worth of equipment remains in Afghanistan after the US withdrawal ended on August 30, 2021. It includes aircraft, air-to-ground ammunition, military vehicles, weapons, communications equipment, and more. materials, the report said.
