Sales of hijabs, burqas soar in Afghanistan after Taliban mandates it for education, work

In Afghanistan, sales of hijab and burqa increased after the Taliban announced that only women wearing the hijab will have access to education and work. Women started buying head and body coverings out of fear that the Taliban would hunt down and beat them up if they were seen without hijabs or burqas, something similar to what used to happen in the country in the 1990s, a Sputnik correspondent reported on Sunday.

Following the announcement earlier this week, prices for these pieces of clothing have increased from 900 Afghanis (USD 10.5) to 1,500 Afghanis. A woman, about 50-years-old described to Sputnik that she visited Kabul's Ahmad Shah Baba Mena Bazaar in search of a burqa. "I came out today to buy hijabs or chadors for my two daughters," the woman said, adding that she bought a burqa for herself under the previous Taliban government back in the 1990s.

Rashid Ahmad, a shopkeeper who owns a hijab and chador shop in Kabul's Ahmad Shah Baba Mana, confirmed to Sputnik that the sales of these traditional covering garments had increased. Meanwhile, Afghan women activists have been over the past few days staging protests in parts of Afghanistan, seeking equal rights for themselves and ensuring they are included in decision-making roles in political life in the country that has been taken over by the Taliban.

The Taliban has been trying to paint a new picture from its earlier rule (1996-2001) when they enforced their version of Islamic Sharia law. The Taliban earlier ruled in accordance with a harsh interpretation of Islamic law under which women were largely confined to their homes.

But now the terrorists have sought to project themselves as a moderate group in recent years when they were negotiating peace talks in Doha. Meanwhile, Afghans remain sceptical.