The Taliban has ordered Afghan women to wear burkas in public.
The burka, which covers the wearer from head to toe and leaves only a person's eyes exposed, became the group's staple order on women in Afghanistan during its first reign of terror, between 1996 and 2001.
The decision to re-introduce the garment serves as a chilling echo of the drastic restrictions Afghan women are once again facing under the Taliban's control.
If women have no important work outside the home, they should stay at home, the group also declared.
Refusal to comply with the order can result in a male guardian being locked up for three days.
"Islamic principles and Islamic ideology are more important to us than anything else. We want our sisters to live with dignity and safety," claimed Khalid Hanafi, acting minister for the Taliban's vice and virtue ministry.
The Taliban has decreed the blue burka, which reveals only the eyes, as the ideal face covering, according to reports.
"For all dignified Afghan women wearing hajib is necessary and the best Hhajib is chadori [the head-to-toe burka] which is part of our tradition and is respectful," said Shir Mohammad, another official from the vice and virtue ministry.
The Taliban says that the blue burka, which reveals only the eyes, is the ideal face covering. Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images 
A woman in a Burka walks by vandalized posters of women on beauty salon windows in Kabul, Afghanistan. Photo by Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images 
A woman wearing a burqa carries an infant as she waits with others for free bread in front of a bakery in Kabul on January 24, 2022. Photo by MOHD RASFAN/AFP via Getty Images "Those women who are not too old or young must cover their face, except the eyes," he added.
In March, the Taliban instructed all government employees to wear a beard and adhere to a dress code or risk being fired. The group also banned women from taking flights without a male chaperone and failed to open girls' schools as promised.
With Post wires
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