AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
The Taliban announced yesterday that women and girls in Afghanistan must now cover up from head to toe when they leave their homes. In a press conference to an audience of only men, they recommended women wear a burqa. That's the enveloping fabric with a netted mesh for the - on - for the face. On the line with us is NPR's Diaa Hadid. She covers Afghanistan from her base in neighboring Pakistan. Diaa, how did the Taliban make this announcement, and what else did they say?
DIAA HADID, BYLINE: OK, so they made the announcement at a press conference held by a ministry that has a long name. It's the Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and the Propagation of Virtue. It's an ultraconservative institution that ensures compliance with the Taliban's interpretation of Islamic law. And that's where officials said women have to wear a burqa or loose clothes, headscarf and face veil. And here's the thing. It's their male guardians who could be punished or jailed if their women defy the rules. And what that does is strips a woman of her existence as an adult citizen. It reduces her to a minor.
