Taliban official: Women lose value if their faces are visible to men in public

RELIGIOUS NEWS AGENCY (REDNA) – Women lose value if men can see their uncovered faces in public, a spokesman for a key ministry of Afghanistan’s Taliban group said.

He added that religious scholars in the country agree that a woman must keep her face covered when outside the home.

The Taliban, who took over the country in August of 2021, have cited the failure of women to observe the proper way to wear the hijab, or Islamic headscarf, as a reason for barring them from most public spaces, including parks, jobs and university.

Molvi Mohammad Sadiq Akif, the spokesman for the Taliban’s Ministry of Vice and Virtue, said in an interview last Thursday with The AP that if women’s faces are visible in public there is a possibility of fitna, or falling into sin.

“It is very bad to see women (without the hijab) in some areas (big cities), and our scholars also agree that women’s faces should be hidden,” Akif said.

“It’s not that her face will be harmed or damaged. A woman has her own value and that value decreases by men looking at her. Allah gives respect to females in hijab and there is value in this.”