Women Lose Their Value if Men Can See Their Uncovered Faces in Public: Taliban

There’s the possibility of fitna (falling into sin) if women’s faces are visible in public, says the Taliban. Women lose their value if men can see their uncovered faces. 

The spokesman for the Taliban’s Ministry of Vice and Virtue, Molvi Mohammad Sadiq Akif, explained it is very bad to see women without the hijab in some areas. “Our Islamic scholars also agree that women’s faces should be hidden. It’s not that her face will be harmed or damaged. A woman has her own value and that value decreases by men looking at her. Allah gives respect to females in hijab and there is no value in this.” 

Akif claimed that Islamic law (Sharia) has been welcomed by Afghans and that men no longer harass or stare at women like they used to do in the time of the previous government. He highlighted the ministry relies on a network of officials and informants to check if people are following regulations. “Our ombudsmen walk in markets, public places, universities, schools, madrasas and mosques. They visit all these places and watch people. They also speak with them and educate them. We monitor them and people also cooperate with and inform us.” 

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The Taliban said women can go to the park but only if there are no men there. “If there are men, then Sharia does not allow it. We don’t say that a woman can’t do sports, she can’t go to the park, or she can’t run.” Akif said women can do all these things and more, but not in the same way as some women want, be semi-naked and among men. 

However, the Shaykh Zayed Lecturer in Islamic Studies at the Faculty of Divinity at Cambridge University Dr Tim Winter says there is no scriptural mandate in Islam for face coverings. He highlighted that the Taliban would struggle to find anything in Islamic scripture that backs their interpretation of hijab rules. Winter pointed out the name “Taliban”. “Their name implies they are not senior religious experts. The word Taliban means students.” 

The expert said the Taliban operate on the basis of textbooks used in village madrassas. “Muslim scholars who have been to Afghanistan during both periods of the Taliban rule were underwhelmed by their level of religious knowledge. They have just been so isolated from the wider Muslim community.”