Taliban enforce wearing of burka once again

Afghanistan's Taliban leadership has ordered Afghan women to wear the all-covering burka in public.

The blue burka, with a grill covering the face, became symbolic of the Taliban's hard-line rule and oppression of women between 1996-2001.

The Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice read a decree from the group's supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada at a press conference in Kabul.

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"We want our sisters to live with dignity and safety," said Khalid Hanafi, acting minister.

Another official, Shir Mohammad, said: "For all dignified Afghan women, wearing Hajib is necessary and the best Hajib is chadori (the head-to-toe burka) which is part of our tradition and is respectful.

"Those women who are not too old or young must cover their face, except the eyes."

The decree says that if a woman does not cover her face outside the home, her father or closest male relative would be visited and eventually imprisoned or fired from government jobs.

The decree added that if women have no important work to be done outside, it is better for them to stay at home.

"Islamic principles and Islamic ideology are more important to us than anything else," Mr Hanafi said.

The Taliban was driven from power by a US-led coalition in 2001 but returned after a chaotic withdrawal of international troops last August.

Since returning to power, the Taliban leadership has squabbled internally as it struggles to transition from a war footing to government. This unrest has pitted hard-liners against the more pragmatic.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in 2021 said the insurgents sought no revenge and that "everyone is forgiven".

The decision to make the burka mandatory again marks an escalation of growing restrictions on women in public.

The Taliban previously decided against reopening schools to girls above grade 6 (around 11-years-old), breaking an earlier promise.

The international community has urged its leaders to reconsider.