The Department of Vice and Virtue of Bamiyan in a statement asked the businessmen of the province not to import thin and tight-fitting clothes for women that are “against Sharia and Afghan culture” into the market.
The department called the use of “tight, thin, and short” clothes an imitation of Western culture and asked the residents of the province not to use these clothes.
“We have advised the traders, shopkeepers and crafting people that we are Muslim and our culture is Islamic. You should import the clothes which are in line with the Afghan culture and tradition. The clothes which are not in accordance with Islamic culture for example, the short, tight and thin, should not be imported because we are Muslim and our society is Islamic,” said Mahmoodul Hassan Mansouri, head of the department of Vice and Virtue.
Meanwhile, some of the cultural activists welcomed the decision of the department of Vice and Virtue, saying that women had already been observing hijab in Bamiyan.
“The women and men in Afghanistan don’t have a certain culture of clothes. The women usually use the Iranian, Arabic and Indian style clothes. Now that the employees of the Vice and Virtue Ministry decided that the Muslim women should observe wearing clothes, this is a proper decision and the Afghan women should not have to wear western style clothes,” said Abdul Ali Shafaq, a cultural activist.
“We women have always observed the hijab and that is our Islamic responsibility,” said Zainab Sadaat, a cultural activist.
Meanwhile, some of the shopkeepers said that they have been instructed to remove thin and tight-fitting clothes from their shops.
“They have instructed us to not import short, tight and thin clothes. We are happy about this decision because we are all Muslims,” said Ali Riza, a shopkeeper.
According to the department of Vice and Virtue in Bamiyan, if anyone disobeys the decision, they will face serious actions.
