Afghanistan's Taliban Order Women to Cover Up Head to Toe
TimeSep 09, 2022
The Facts
Afghanistan's Taliban leadership announced on Sat. that all Afghan women must wear head-to-toe clothing in public, evoking similar restrictions on women during the Taliban's previous rule between 1996 and 2001.
The decree names the chadori - a head-to-toe burqa - as the government's preferred form of women's attire, and further adds that, unless attending to important work, it's better for women to stay inside their homes
The Spin
Republican narrative
The current attacks on women's rights in Afghanistan are a direct result of the Biden administration's decision to withdraw from the country. His administration may pontificate about women's rights, but it has no way of enforcing them without troops on the ground.
Democratic narrative
While US involvement in Afghanistan saw significant gains for women's rights, the fact that Afghan security forces collapsed so quickly following its withdrawal indicates that the yields weren't sustainable without indefinite US presence, which itself wasn't sustainable or realistic.