Date: 17/02/1401
According to the order of the Taliban leader in Afghanistan, women in this country must keep their faces covered in public and outside the home. In a message from Haibatullah Akhundzada, the leader of the Taliban group, read on Saturday, 17th of Ordibehesht, by the spokesperson of the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, women are warned that if they disobey this command, their father or closest male relative will be summoned and eventually imprisoned or dismissed from government jobs. This message also designates the "blue burqa," which was a global symbol of the Taliban during the years 1996 to 2001, as the ideal covering for women.

By mandating full face coverings and threatening male relatives with imprisonment or dismissal from government jobs for women’s noncompliance, the policy enforces collective punishment and deepens gender oppression. The designation of the "blue burqa" as the preferred covering revives a symbol of past Taliban rule, reinforcing a broader rollback of civil liberties. The policy undermines women's personal autonomy and reinforces patriarchal control over both women and their families, amounting to systemic gender-based repression.