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Journalists Benazir Baktash and Kaneshka on TV.
Only their eyes may be seen.
Photo: - / picture alliance / 1TV / dpa
The resistance lasted for a day, and now several Afghan TV journalists are obeying the Taliban's order to wear full veils.
The day before, some had resisted: moderators and reporters had shown themselves on the news with uncovered faces.
The notorious Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice had ordered all female TV journalists to appear with their faces covered from Saturday.
Only their eyes may therefore be visible.
The ministry thus enforced a decree from Taliban leader Hibatullah Achundsada, according to which women and especially government employees should only appear in public in full veils.
Pressure on TV channels
They face dismissal if they break the rules.
Fathers, husbands, or male guardians of the women affected also face penalties, as do TV executives who fail to enforce this order.
"We fought back, we didn't want to wear masks," said moderator Sonja Niasi from the TOLOnews broadcaster on Sunday to the AFP news agency.
»But TOLOnews was put under pressure«.
According to her, the broadcaster should transfer or fire all journalists who – as has been the norm up to now – only appear with a headscarf.
Men also wore face masks out of solidarity
Channel director Chpolwak Sapai confirmed Niasi's statements.
“We were told: You must do it.
There is no other way," Sapai told the news agency.
He received a call with a clear request.
"We don't do it voluntarily."
Male journalists and station staff also wore face masks in the offices in solidarity with the presenters, an AFP correspondent reported.
Meanwhile, other employees of the station left their faces uncovered.
By order of the authorities, Afghan television stations have already stopped showing films and series in which women play a role.
After taking power in Kabul in mid-August, the radical Islamic Taliban promised a more moderate government than during their rule between 1996 and 2001.
In recent months, however, numerous women's freedoms have been curtailed, for example in education and on the job market.
A few Afghan women had demonstrated against the restrictions, but the Taliban cracked down on them.
jlk/AFP