Afghanistan: Taliban Orders Female TV Presenters To Cover Their Faces

The Taliban-led Afghanistan government has ordered all female presenters working in the country's TV channels to cover their faces, according to media reports.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in a new order demanded all female presenters working in all TV channels to cover their faces while presenting programs, reports TOLO News.

According to the report, informing Moby group of the order, representatives of the Afghan Ministries of Vice and Virtue and Information and Culture, called it a final verdict and not up for discussion.

Moby group, founded in 2002 by Afghan entrepreneur Saad Mohseni, is the largest media company in Afghanistan.

According to the TOLO news, which is part of the Moby Media Group, the order has been issued to all media outlets in Afghanistan.

However, the Taliban government denied the restrictions on the women.

“We deny such claims about the violation of women’s rights. The Islamic Emirate protect the rights of all Afghan citizens,” said Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate.

In an interview with CNN, Afghanistan's acting Minister of Interior, Sirajuddin Haqqani, said the Islamic Emirate is committed to the rights of everyone "within the Islamic government".

"We are not forcing women to wear hijab, but we are advising them and preaching to them from time to time. Hijab is also (to) create a dignified environment for women’s education and work, hijab is not compulsory but is an Islamic order that everyone should implement," Haqqani was quoted as saying.