Afghanistan’s Taliban leadership ordered all Afghan women to wear the all-covering burqa in public, the ministry of vice and virtue said Saturday.
The move evoked similar restrictions on women during the Taliban’s previous hard-line rule between 1996 and 2001.
“We want our sisters to live with dignity and safety,” said Khalid Hanafi, acting minister for the Taliban’s vice and virtue ministry.
The Taliban previously decided against reopening schools to girls above grade 6, reneging on an earlier promise and opting to appease their hard-line base at the expense of further alienating the international community.
That decision disrupted efforts by the Taliban to win recognition from potential international donors at a time when the country is mired in a worsening humanitarian crisis.
The international community has urged Taliban leaders to reopen schools.
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