Afghan women under threat of a new type of full-face veil

Published on : 09/22/2021 – 18:04

They marched in a black coat, sometimes even covering their eyes with a veil, with gloves: the outfit worn by demonstrators “pro-Taliban”, September 11 in Kabul, aroused serious concern among Afghan women. Online, women in exile have launched a protest movement to show what clothes “represent” them, while those who remain in the country, like our Observer, fear that they will be forced to dress.

Neda (pseudonym) is categorical: this full black veil is unheard of in Afghanistan. “It’s a more extreme version of the hijab that you can see in some countries like the United Arab Emirates or Pakistan,” she regrets. And even more extreme than the blue chadri in force during the first Taliban regime (1996-2001), with which women had a grid in front of their eyes but “at least could see”. Today, “the Taliban say that women must not go out naked. What they mean by that is that they must have their face and hands covered, that is their conception of nudity. “, deplores our Observer, legitimately worried about the evolution of the obligations imposed on Afghan women.

Her testimony and that of a Hazara Shiite woman in exile are in this excerpt from the France 24 Observers program.

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