Punishing 'Bad Hijab'

Taliban’s Crackdown on ‘Bad Hijabs’: Women Arrested in Kabul

In a troubling development, the Taliban in Kabul has initiated a crackdown on women allegedly wearing “bad hijabs,” leading to several arrests, as confirmed by a spokesperson from the Afghanistan Vice and Virtue Ministry.

This marks the first official acknowledgment of a stringent enforcement of dress code laws for women introduced by the Taliban in May 2022. According to these regulations, women are permitted to show only their eyes while adhering to a head-to-toe burqa.

Abdul Ghafar Farooq, the spokesperson for the Vice and Virtue Ministry, conveyed through voice notes to the Associated Press that the Taliban is taking stringent actions against women who violate the dress code. Notably, women in the capital city were arrested three days ago for wearing what the authorities deemed as “bad hijabs.” Farooq revealed that the ministry had received complaints about improper hijab practices for almost two-and-a-half years. After issuing advisories, female police officers were deployed to apprehend those who continued to defy the dress code.

Farooq stated, “These are the few limited women who spread bad hijab in Islamic society,” emphasizing their perceived violation of Islamic values and rituals.

In response to the Taliban’s intensified restrictions, the UN Security Council recently called for a special envoy to engage with the Taliban, particularly on gender and human rights. However, the Taliban criticized external interventions, asserting that special envoys create a “complicated situation.”

_{Repurposed article originally published in ShethePeople}