Presenters of major television news channels in Afghanistan, who have been forced by the Taliban to cover their faces in the air, vowed on Sunday to continue fighting for their rights.
Since they returned to power last year, the Taliban has imposed a series of restrictions on civil society, many of them aimed at subjecting women to their fundamentalist concept of Islam.
Earlier this month, the Taliban supreme leader issued a decree that women must cover completely in public, including the face, which is perfect with a burqa, a full face veil with a grid cloth on eye level.
Previously, the scarf covering the hair was enough.
Afghanistan’s dreaded Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has ordered female TV presenters to comply on Saturday.
At first female journalists chose not to comply with this mandate by appearing live without hiding their faces.
All this before turning away: On Sunday, presenters wore full veils, leaving only their eyes and foreheads, to show newspapers on TOLOnews, Ariana Television, Shamshad TV and 1TV channels.
We are protesting and against wearing the full veil, Sonia Niazi, a TOLOnews presenter, told Agence France-Presse (AFP). But TOLOnews was under pressure.
Now they force us to wear a mask, but we will continue our fight with our voice […]. I will be the voice of other Afghan womenhe said after presenting the newsletter. We will work until the Islamic Emirate removes us from public space or forces us to stay at home.
We will continue our fight until our last breathLima Spesaly, presenter for 1TV, also confirmed a few minutes before appearing on the air with his face covered.
TOLOnews director Khpolwak Sapai said the channel has become pilit to carry out the command of his staff.
We were told: “You have to do it. You have to do it. There is no other solution”Mr. Sapai told AFP. I was called on the phone yesterday and told strictly to do so. So it’s not by choice that we do it, but coerced and forced.
During the day, men, journalists and employees working at the TOLOnews area in Kabul wore masks covering their faces, in solidarity with the presenters. Other employees continued to work without covering their faces.
In the evening, presenters from TOLOnews and 1TV wearing black masks appeared on the air, protesting the Taliban’s command.
Mohammad Sadeq Akif Mohajir, spokesman for the Taliban’s Ministry for the Advancement of Welfare and Vice Prevention, said the authorities had no intention of forcing the performers into their jobs.
We are happy that the chains have performed their responsibility correctlyhe told AFP.
Back to Taliban orthodoxy
The Taliban also ordered the dismissal of women working in government if they did not comply with the new dress code. Male employees are also at risk of being suspended if their spouses or daughters do not comply.
The Taliban regained power in August 2021 announcing a more flexible regime than during their first very strict rule.
In recent months, however, they have begun to suppress opposition and reduce freedoms, especially for women, in education, work and daily life.
They began by mandating that women wear at least one hijab, a scarf that covers the head, but exposes the face. Then, at the beginning of May, they imposed on them the public wearing of a full veil, preferably the burqa, which was mandatory when they were in power from 1996 to 2001.
In the 20 years since the Taliban was ousted in 2001, many conservative women in the countryside have continued to wear the burqa. But many other Afghan women, especially in cities – and including television presenters – have opted for the simple headscarf.
Television channels have stopped broadcasting series and soap operas featuring women, at the behest of the Taliban.
Source: Radio-Canada