According to a new decree issued by the Taliban, Afghan women are now required to observe hijab, and if they violate this decree, their male family members will be punished. The Taliban government considers the traditional chadari (a type of traditional Afghan hijab) to be the ideal form of hijab and insists that women must cover their faces to avoid causing "temptation."

Muhammad Khalid Hanafi, the acting head of the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, announced the new plan on Saturday, the 17th of Saur (April), stating that the Taliban regards the observance of hijab as "mandatory and essential." He declared that wearing the chadari is the most appropriate form of hijab. The Ministry claims the plan is religious in nature, formulated by scholars, and approved by Taliban leadership.

This new decree represents a deepening of the Taliban’s gender apartheid policies, using religious justification to impose rigid, coercive control over women’s appearance and public presence. By declaring the Chadari (full-body covering) as the "best" form of hijab and making face covering mandatory, the Taliban strips Afghan women of personal agency and visibility. The additional threat to male relatives for a woman’s noncompliance institutionalizes collective punishment and enforces patriarchal control within the family unit. This policy is not only a direct violation of women’s rights to equality and personal freedom, but also weaponizes familial ties to extend state control into private life.