The Taliban Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice officials have allegedly warned shopkeepers in Mazar-e-Sharif, the provincial capital of Balkh province in northern Afghanistan, not to sell anything to women who are not wearing hijab, according to the local sources.
The shopkeepers were informed of the new order, according to the sources, on Monday morning, August 29, in the famous Blue Mosque of Mazar-e-Sharif city and they were warned of the consequences if they failed to obey the order.
Shopkeepers stated that serious action will be taken against them if they sell products to women who do not wear hijab, as per the new order. They have also been ordered to close their shops during the prayer and attend the congregation.
In Takhar province in northern Afghanistan, during the previous week, it was reported that Taliban forces purportedly used whips to take several shopkeepers to congregational prayers.
Additionally, a written directive was delivered to the shops and inhabitants of Kabul’s 7th district stating that they had to be present in the congregation during the prayer and that anyone absent will not have the right to complain. The Taliban’s Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice previously declared that all Afghan women must wear the hijab.
The Taliban statement that mandated hijab for Afghan women preferred the all-encompassing blue burqa, Chadari which became a global icon of the Taliban’s prior extremist tenure from 1996 to 2001, as a suitable covering.—Khaama News Agency
