KABUL (AFP) – The Taliban police have put up posters around the capital Kabul ordering Afghan women to cover up, an official said Friday.
The poster, which includes an image of the face-covering burqa, was slapped on cafes and shops this week by the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
“According to Sharia law, Muslim women must wear the hijab,” the poster reads, referring to the practice of covering up.
A spokesman for the ministry confirmed to AFP on Friday that it was behind the orders.
“If someone does not follow it, it does not mean she will be punished or beaten, it’s just encouragement for Muslim women to follow Sharia law,” Sadeq Akif Muhajir said.
In Kabul, women already cover their hair with headscarves, though some wear modest western clothing.
Outside of the capital the burqa, which became mandatory for women under the Taliban’s first rule in the 1990s, has remained common.