Date: 13/04/1403

Announcement from the Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice and Complaints of Daikundi Province

To the honorable citizens of Daikundi province,

Greetings and peace be upon you,

It is advised that all women in Daikundi province take necessary actions to ensure they fully observe the Islamic and Arabic hijab from the 29th of June 2024 to the 5th of July 2024, for a period of five days. During this time, women must wear the Arabic and Islamic hijab, including a head covering, whenever they leave their homes and must continue wearing it until they return home. No woman is allowed to remove her hijab in the market, educational centers, or public places, and she must remain covered until she returns home.

After the specified date, if any woman is found without the Arabic hijab in the market or public offices, she will face punishment and imprisonment. Responsibility for this action will rest with the individual and her family, and they will no longer have the right to file complaints.

This provincial-level written directive exemplifies a coercive enforcement strategy through a limited-time compliance window followed by hardline punishment. By explicitly stating the timeframe for adjustment and threatening imprisonment and loss of complaint rights, the directive moves beyond advisory and into threat-based gender control, reinforcing the Taliban’s broader agenda of eliminating dissent, autonomy, and legal safeguards for women. The use of the term “Arabic and Islamic hijab” further reflects ideological imposition over local Afghan norms and contributes to forced homogenization of gender identity under Taliban rule