Taliban orders female TV anchors to cover their faces on air

• Image Credit: Internet

• May 20, 2022 | Dhupali Das

An Afghan local media source confirmed that his station had received the instruction and that it was not subject to debate.

Digital Desk: Afghanistan's Taliban rulers have ordered all-female TV anchors to mask their faces on air. 

Reportedly, the order came in a statement from the Taliban's Virtue and Vice Ministry, which is in charge of executing the group's judgments, as well as the Information and Culture Ministry.

The directive was labelled as "final and non-negotiable" in the statement, according to the TOLOnews channel. 

According to reports, the statements were issued to the Moby Group, which owns TOLOnews and several other TV and radio networks, as well as other Afghan media. 

An Afghan local media source confirmed that his station had received the instruction and that it was not subject to debate.

As stated by him, the station had no other choice. He agreed to speak on the condition that he and his station remain anonymous for fear of causing complications with the authorities.

Several female broadcasters and presenters took to social media to share photographs of themselves wearing face masks while presenting broadcasts. Yalda Ali, a well-known TOLO host, tweeted a video of herself wearing a face mask with the caption "a lady being erased, under orders from the Virtue and Vice Ministry."

Meanwhile, in another station, Shamshad TV, the directive was implemented unevenly: one woman anchor wore a face mask on Thursday, while another did not, revealing her face later that day.

During the Taliban's first term in office, from 1996 to 2001, they imposed severe restrictions on women, including ordering them to wear an all-encompassing burqa that even covered their eyes with a net and prohibiting them from participating in public affairs or receiving an education.

The Taliban first appeared to have softened its restrictions after retaking control in Afghanistan in August, establishing no clothing code for women. However, in recent weeks, they have made a sudden, hard-line pivot, confirming rights groups' worst worries.

The Taliban ordered all women in public to wear head-to-toe clothes with only their eyes showing earlier this month. Moreover, the order said that women should only leave the house when necessary and that male relative would be punished for violating the dress code, beginning with notice and progressing to court hearings and jail sentences.

In addition, the Taliban leader issued a directive prohibiting girls from attending school after sixth grade, cancelling previous Taliban promises that girls of all ages would be permitted to attend school.