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Mandatory burqa decision by IEA sparks widespread reaction
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) order Saturday for women to wear a burqa in public has sparked widespread reaction from around the world.
Among thse who have expressed concern are the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), the UN’s Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and the US special envoy for Afghan women Rina Amiri.
In response to the decree, UNAMA said in a press release that the decision, which is a formal directive rather than a recommendation, contradicts the IEA’s pledges to respect human rights especially the rights of girls and women in Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice on Saturday announced that women in Afghanistan must be covered from head to toe and should not leave homes unless necessary.
The decree was issued by the IEA’s Supreme Leader Mullah Haibutullah Akhundzada.
UNAMA said that over the past two decades the IEA has pledged to uphold Afghan women’s rights to education and work.
“These assurances were repeated following the Taliban (IEA) takeover in August 2021, that women would be afforded their rights, whether in work, education, or society at large,” UNAMA’s statement read.
UNAMA has meanwhile asked the IEA to provide further clarification on their decision.
Meanwhile, the US State Department has expressed concern about the IEA’s latest decree, saying the Islamic Emirate’s actions against women and human rights issues have a negative impact on their relationship with the international community.
A state department spokesman said the legitimacy that the IEA seeks from the international community is directly linked to their conduct, especially towards women and girls.
The US special envoy for Afghan women Rina Amiri meanwhile said in a Twitter post that the IEA has been suppressing Afghan women and girls rather than addressing the country’s economic and political crises.
The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also expressed concern over the decision adding that the IEA must abide by international law in assuring the rights of Afghan women and girls.
The Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice said Saturday that 99 percent of Afghan women and girls currently observe Islamic hijab and that the decree pertains to the remaining one percent.
Mohammad Naeem, Spokesman of the IEA’s Political Office, said in a series of tweets that according to international law, every society has the right to live in the light of its values and beliefs.
Hijab is a symbol of Afghan society and an important value, Naeem said.
According to Naeem, “no one can represent another community, the leaders of each community are the representatives of their community.”
Islamabad would like Beijing to speak to Kabul about the issue of terrorism, Pakistan’s Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said.
Speaking in an interview with VOA released on Sunday, Iqbal said that Pakistan has concerns on certain groups that are operating out of Afghanistan and carrying out terrorism actions.
“The terrorists who committed the recent incident against Chinese workers also came from Afghanistan, so I think this is a cause of concern, and we also hope that China would also persuade Afghanistan because Afghans listen to the Chinese government in the region,” Iqbal said.
The official said that as a result of crises and conflicts over the last couple of decades in Afghanistan, Pakistan has not been able to invest in its infrastructure, and its economy has developed two major bottlenecks – energy blockage and infrastructure blockage.
Referring to Afghanistan, he said that Pakistan has an agreement with China to have a third country as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has previously rejected Pakistan’s allegations against Afghanistan over security incidents.
At least 18 people have died and two others have been injured following floods in Faryab province on Saturday night, the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation announced Sunday.
The flash floods occurred in Pashtunkot, Almar, Qaisar, Belcheragh, Khyber and Dawlat Abad districts, the ministry said in a statement.
560 houses, 850 acres of agricultural land, 110 shops and a mobile clinic were destroyed as a result of the floods, according to the statement.
In addition, 300 livestock perished and 2,000 fruit trees were destroyed, the statement said.
This comes just a week after deadly floods left over 300 people dead in northern Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Justice announced Saturday that Mawlawi Hebatullah Akhundzada, the leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), has approved the law on collection of beggars and preventing begging.
The law has three chapters and 27 articles, and is published in the official gazette of the Ministry of Justice.
According to the law, begging is prohibited for healthy and working people and those who can secure their one-day meal.
The law also prohibits the use of children and the disabled for begging.
According to the law, professional beggars who use a child or a mentally ill person or a disabled person for the purpose of begging, will be sentenced to one month in prison by the court, and their organizers will be sentenced to up to six months in prison.
In 2022, the leader of the Islamic Emirate ordered the collection of beggars. Tens of thousands of beggars have been rounded up so far.
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