Afghan women across the globe are sharing their pictures on social media dressed in traditional Afghani dresses in protest against the Taliban.
Taliban had ordered the segregation of male and female students in educational institutions. They have instructed the female teachers, students, and employees to wear hijab following Islamic law.
Last week, pictures and videos of women dressed in hijab marching in favor of the Taliban had emerged on social media. Picture of fully-covered women in hijab, raising flags of Taliban had gone viral on social media. This ensued a widespread social media campaign in which women shared their pictures dressed in the traditional, brightly-colored Afghan dresses.
Me wearing traditional Afghan attire in Kabul. This is Afghan culture and this is how Afghan women dress. @RoxanaBahar1 pic.twitter.com/fUZSqy4rRK
— Waslat Hasrat-Nazimi (@WasHasNaz) September 12, 2021
https://twitter.com/spozhmey/status/1437022301069922305?s=20
You can’t find this dress code in any part of the world.
It’s neither Islamic nor Afghan.
It’s GHOST CULTURE that turns women into a nonentity. Period.#Afghanistan #Taliban pic.twitter.com/Rlb6pGqun9— Ziauddin Yousafzai (@ZiauddinY) September 12, 2021
The women participating in the social media campaigns say that they had seen women wearing hijab in Afghanistan before the government of the Taliban came. They added that they have have seen their ancestors wearing these same colorful dresses. Women added that females who wore a hijab wear it on personal choice and not due to the government’s decision.
Read more: Taliban gets support from Afghan women in a veiled protest
Taliban imposing restrictions on women
Bahar Jalali, the former faculty member of the American University of Afghanistan, had first shared her picture dressed up in the traditional dress that kicked started and inspired other women to share their pictures on social media.
Jalali quote-tweeted a picture of a woman in a full black dress and veil and said: “No woman has ever dressed like this in the history of Afghanistan. This is utterly foreign and alien to Afghan culture. I posted my pic in the traditional Afghan dress to inform, educate, and dispel the misinformation that is being propagated by Taliban.”
Afghan Women's Online Campaign Against Taliban Dress Code: 'Do Not Touch My Clothes' https://t.co/OoCTYv5cd6#AfganistanWomen #AfghanWomen #DoNotTouchMyClothes #DoNotRecognizeTaliban #AfghanistanCulture pic.twitter.com/kDnYAvqQMk
— Natasha Fatah (@NatashaFatah) September 13, 2021
Read more: UNHCR: Taliban’s statements on Afghan women rights contradict reality
Earlier, reports emerged that the Taliban government has banned females and women cricket teams from playing and participating in sports in Afghanistan.
Ahmadullah Wasiq, the deputy chairman of the Taliban’s culture mission, claimed in an interview with the Australian network SBS that women’s sport was neither appropriate nor required.
“I don’t think women will be allowed to play cricket because women don’t need to play cricket,” Wasiq said. “In cricket, they might face a situation where their face and body will not be covered. Islam does not allow women to be seen like this”.