Taliban relax veil system to prevent mediawomen’s entry | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

Taliban relax veil system to prevent mediawomen’s entry

PESHAWAR- The Taliban on relaxed the veil (burqa) system for women and has directed the women entering to Afghanistan to keep their faces uncover for identity, say reports reaching here from the war-torn country.

The religious Taliban militia after the tightening of control over Afghanistan in September 1996 announced strict Islamic laws directing women to wear veil while roaming in bazaars or travelling inside Afghanistan. The women, who violated the code were punished. The Taliban has also ordered women not to come out of their houses without accompanying by male members of their families.

The decision of relaxation of veil has been taken to prevent the entry of media women, who are trying to enter Afghanistan in guise of wearing the traditional Afghan Burqa, cloak. Earlier a British woman journalist, Yvonne Ridley, 43, was arrested when she was trying to sneaked into Afghanistan, but was spotted and held by the authorities. The price of burqa ranges from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 in various colours with the most popular a baby, blue, sometimes nicknamed Kandahar blue the southern city, the Taliban’s headquarters.

Supreme Leader of Taliban, Mulla Muhammad Omar has reiterated that the Taliban stand against former King Muhammad Zahir Shah, saying that the religious militia will declare a holy war against his supporters, says Radio Shariat of Afghanistan. He said that Zahir Shah is timid person and he will not be able to fight the propaganda of Christianity.

The broadcast also condemned the statement of Pakistani officials that they ashamed of the creation of Taliban militia. The Taliban’s supreme leader said that no one has created Taliban as he himself has created it, saying that being resident of an unknown village of Afghanistan he has no foreign support, Radio Shariat said in concluding the remarks.

Source: The Nation
Date:10/4/2001