Taliban's 'Religious Guidelines': Women Appearing on TV Face Restrictions

Programmes featuring Prophet Mohammed and other revered figures are also banned.

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(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@mehdizafar) 

The Taliban government, on Sunday, 21 November, issued ''religious guidelines'' for the women of Afghanistan whose job is to appear on TV for various purposes, AFP reported.

The Taliban directed all the TV channels of Afghanistan to stop broadcasting dramas and soap operas that featured women.

Issued by the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the Taliban's guidelines also demand that women journalists on TV wear Islamic hijabs during their shows.

Programmes featuring Prophet Muhammad and other revered figures are also banned, along with films and shows that are against the Islamic and Afghan values.

''These are not rules but a religious guideline," according to the ministry spokesperson Hakif Mohajir, who was talking to AFP.

The Taliban has told the international community that in exchange for diplomatic recognition, it will rule more moderately than it did during its rule over Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001.

However, its actions since it came back to power in August, indicate otherwise.

The Taliban have already created rules and regulations for women's dress codes at universities, and have reportedly beaten and intimidated many journalists despite promising to ensure freedom of press and media.

Independent Afghan media had grown to considerable heights under the post-2001 governments that ruled the country with the help of United States until the Taliban regained power this year.

(With inputs from AFP and Twitter.)