The Burqa In Afghanistan: Unveiling The Truth

In Afghanistan, the burqa has been a common sight for many years, particularly in rural areas. The burqa is a garment that covers women from head to toe, with a mesh face covering that limits their vision. While it is not an Islamic requirement, the Taliban has enforced its use to control women's behaviour and appearance. In May 2022, the Taliban decreed that women must wear head-to-toe clothing in public, with their faces covered, and that their male relatives would be held responsible for ensuring their compliance. This restriction on women's dress and movement evoked memories of the Taliban's previous rule from 1996 to 2001, when they also imposed harsh limitations on women's lives.

The Taliban's decree that women must wear the burqa

On Saturday, May 7, 2022, the Taliban decreed that Afghan women must wear head-to-toe coverings in public, with only their eyes visible. The Taliban's Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice suggested that the burqa, a full-body covering with a stitched facial netting for vision, is the preferred option for women's attire. This decree evoked memories of the Taliban's previous rule from 1996 to 2001, when similar restrictions were imposed on women's dress and movement.

The Taliban's latest ruling has been met with dismay and outrage by Afghan women and human rights activists. It is seen as a cruel twist that the decree makes women's male relatives and employers responsible for enforcing the law, with fines or jail time as punishments for non-compliance. This dynamic further restricts women's autonomy and reinforces their position as minors in the eyes of Taliban officials.

The burqa, while traditional in Afghanistan, is not a requirement in Islamic dress. Religious scholars argue that the proper definition of modest dress in Islam has been debated for centuries, and there is no textual basis for the burqa to be the ultimate expression of hijab. The Taliban's imposition of the burqa as the preferred form of dress for women is a reflection of their interpretation of Islamic law and their desire to control women's public attire.

The international community has also expressed concern over the Taliban's decree. The United Nations described it as a "bald betrayal" of the group's pledges to respect gender equality. The United States, through State Department Spokesperson Ned Price, has directly addressed the issue with the Taliban and continues to apply pressure to reverse these decisions. However, the Taliban have been largely immune to external pressure, and it remains to be seen what concrete actions will be taken by the international community to protect women's rights in Afghanistan.

The burqa is not an Islamic requirement

The Quran does not mention the burqa or instruct women to cover their faces. The Quranic verse often used to justify the burqa states:

> Tell the believing women to lower their eyes, guard their private parts (furuj), and not display their charms (zina) except what is apparent outwardly, and cover their bosoms with their veils (khumur, sing. khimar) and not to show their finery except to their husbands or their fathers or fathers-in-law [...]

The phrase "except what is apparent outwardly" has been interpreted differently by scholars. Some argue that it refers to the face and hands, which do not need to be covered, while others disagree.

The burqa is not mentioned in the hadith, or collected traditions of life in the days of the Prophet Muhammad. The only notable credible hadith states:

> Do not write down anything I say except the Quran. Whoever has written something other than Quran let him destroy it.

The burqa is not worn by choice in Afghanistan. Women are forced to wear it, and their male relatives are tasked with enforcing the rule. This gives men more power over the female members of their families and exacerbates the problem of domestic abuse.

The burqa is not part of Afghan culture

The burqa is not an Islamic requirement of hijab, or modest dress. It is not mentioned in the Quran or other Islamic texts. The proper definition of modest dress has been debated by scholars for centuries.

In Afghanistan, women traditionally covered their hair and shoulders with a large shawl. The burqa, on the other hand, is an enveloping outer garment that covers the entire body and face, with a mesh screen that only allows the wearer to see in front of her.

The burqa distances women from society and leads to feelings of isolation. It is a symbol of subjugation and oppression. It is a cage, a chain, and an insult.

Afghan women are expressing their freedom in a unique way. They are wearing traditional Afghan dresses and boldly proclaiming, "This is Afghan culture." They are not taking the Taliban's imposition of the burqa lying down. They are resisting and protesting against the Taliban's attempt to scrub them from public life.

The Taliban's hijab decree is an affront to Afghan history and culture. It is a narrow understanding of Islam and a reinforcement of Afghanistan's patriarchal system. It gives ammunition to conservative Afghan men who aim to prevent women from participating in public life.

The international community must not sit by idly. Urgent action is needed to address this serious women's rights crisis in Afghanistan.

The impact of the Taliban's decree on how women dress

The Taliban's decree on how women dress has had a profound impact on the lives of women in Afghanistan. The decree, issued by the Taliban's Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, calls for women to cover themselves from head to toe when in public, with only their eyes visible. This has effectively erased the variety in women's dress that previously existed in Afghanistan, where what women wore tended to differ based on age, personal style, how conservative she and her family or neighbours were, whether she worked in paid employment, and how safe she felt.

The decree has been enforced through punishments for women's male guardians or relatives, who are tasked with policing the women's dress and ensuring their compliance. The punishments for male guardians include fines, jail time, and termination from government employment. This dynamic has been criticised for taking away women's autonomy and further entrenching a system of discrimination and control of women and girls.

The decree has also resulted in women being arbitrarily arrested and detained for violating the dress code. Women and girls have been forcibly taken into police vehicles and held incommunicado, with their release dependent on male family members providing assurances that they will comply with the prescribed dress code in the future.

The decree is part of a broader set of restrictions imposed by the Taliban on women's rights, including their access to education, employment, and freedom of movement. These restrictions have severely limited women's freedoms and participation in public life, and have been described as gender apartheid by the United Nations.

The impact of the decree has been felt differently across Afghanistan. In some provinces, such as Kandahar and Badghis, women's local dress already largely complied with the decree. In other provinces, such as Herat and Kabul, where women previously enjoyed greater freedom and variety in their dress, the decree has forced women to amend their clothing, primarily to avoid potential trouble for themselves or their male relatives.

The decree has been met with dismay and resistance from Afghan women, who have expressed fear, frustration, and anger at the restrictions on their autonomy and participation in public life. Some women have chosen to wear face masks or niqabs as a form of protest or camouflage to avoid recognition or arrest by the Taliban.

The international community has also condemned the decree, with the United Nations, human rights organisations, and foreign governments expressing concern and calling for the Taliban to respect women's rights. However, it is unclear what concrete actions will be taken to address the decree and improve the situation for women in Afghanistan.

The burqa is a symbol of subjugation

The burqa is often viewed as a powerful symbol of the oppression and subjugation of Muslim women, representing women's forced submission and men's hegemonic superiority. It negates equality between the sexes and perpetuates violence against feminine beauty, identity, and dignity. The Islamic veil, of which the burqa is an extreme form, is seen as something that needs to be cast away in the history of the liberation of Muslim women.

The burqa, by covering the whole female body, including the face, restricts women's ability to see and breathe easily, making everyday activities like shopping and walking difficult and dangerous. It also serves as a form of gender discrimination, distancing women from society and fostering feelings of isolation. The imposition of the burqa interferes with women's ability to make their own decisions about their dress and public life, giving men control over their female relatives' choices.

The Taliban's recent decree that women in Afghanistan must wear head-to-toe coverings, with the burqa suggested as the preferred option, has been met with dismay and anger by Afghan women and human rights advocates. It is seen as a step towards disappearing women from public life and rolling back the small freedoms that women had gained since the fall of the Taliban's previous regime.

The burqa is not just a matter of dress but a symbol with political implications. The imposition of the burqa or similar coverings on women in Afghanistan is indicative of the Taliban's attempt to exert control over women's bodies and public lives, stripping away their autonomy and confining them to the private sphere.

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