Hands back over twenty years in Afghanistan , where the order for women to wear the burqa in public is starting today.
The supreme leader of the Taliban Hibatullah Akhundzada ordered it with a decree, an imposition motivated by the fact that the burqa is "traditional and respectful".
"Women who are neither too young nor too old - reads the decree made public today in front of the press - should veil their faces in front of a man who is not a member of their family to avoid provocations". Not only that: if women do not have a very important task to perform outside "it is better that they stay at home".
A decision that takes history back over 20 years in Afghanistan. The Taliban had imposed the use of the burqa during their first period in power - from 1996 to 2001 - marked by a strong repression of women's rights based on their radical interpretation of the Sharia.
They regained power in mid-August after the hasty flight of the United States and promised to be more flexible. But the opening proved to be a flash in the pan, and day after day they began to erode the rights and freedoms of women, who are currently largely excluded from public works and cannot travel alone. In March, girls were also barred from accessing colleges and high schools.
(Unioneonline / L)