Province: Takhar
My name is Fahima, and I am a teacher at a private school. Three days ago, I went to the market with my husband to buy household items. While we were there, I saw several women walking along the street. Two of them were wearing burqas, and the rest were dressed in Arab-style hijabs, veils, and masks.
Members of the Taliban’s Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice were patrolling the market. They stopped these women and asked, “Why are you not wearing hijab?” The women replied, “We are wearing large veils and masks.” One of the Taliban members, speaking sternly, said, “You are not allowed to go out with just a mask. You must wear burqas.”
One of the women looked at him and asked, “What part of us is uncovered?” Enraged, the Taliban member responded, “Your eyes are not covered. The color of your clothes is not black. In fact, being a woman is the problem. You should not leave the house at all.” He then started a verbal argument with them.
Another Taliban officer pointed his weapon at one of the young women and shouted, “Shut up, you damned girl, or I will put a bullet through your head.”
The women hurried away and tried to get into a taxi. The Taliban forced them out, saying they were not properly veiled. They then tried to get into a rickshaw, but the Taliban told the driver not to transport women without full hijab. One by one, they were forced out of several rickshaws.
We stood there watching. Others in the market watched too, but no one dared speak in the face of the Taliban’s guns. I stood silently, watching these women humiliated just because they were women. Their dignity was crushed, and out of fear, I said nothing.
