Afghan Women's Movement Urges Females to Unveil December 30, 2001 07:18 AM ET Email this article Printer friendly version Reuters Photo By Sayed Salahuddin

KABUL, Afghanistan (Reuters) - The head of Afghanistan's official women's movement called Sunday for women to remove their all-covering burqa veils, which the radical Islamic Taliban government made compulsory during its five-year rule.

Amina Afzali said the Koran called for women to wear a scarf and cover their bodies except for their hands and faces, but did not insist on completely covering up as the ousted Taliban did.

"The Holy Koran... is the guide... which all Muslims in the world need to use as a model," Afzali, head of the newly restored Afghanistan Women's Movement, said on Afghan radio.

"During the Haj (pilgrimage to Mecca), women from various countries walk with brothers to worship... and so far no woman has... covered her face while conducting these sacred customs."

The cautious approach and references to the Koran and haj showed how delicate the issues of clothing and modesty can be in a deeply traditional Muslim society such as Afghanistan.

Afzali herself wore a conservative headscarf in Bonn earlier this month while she was a delegate at Afghan peace talks there, in contrast to the silky scarves or uncovered hair preferred by women delegates living in Europe and the United States.

The comments by Afzali, whose group answers to the interim administration headed by Hamid Karzai, followed reports that women who worked before the Taliban came to power had been told to remove their veils if they wanted to return to their jobs.

As soon as the Taliban swept to power in 1996, they banned women from most work and ordered them to wear the all-enveloping burqa whenever venturing outdoors.

Since the Taliban were ousted, many women continue to wear the head-to-toe veil, but several women told Reuters they supported the idea of scrapping it for work.

Afzali made no mention of the next question Afghan women would ask -- would they unveil themselves only at work or shun the burqa on the way to work as well?

TRIM BEARDS

The government has also been informing male employees about a new dress code for them that requires beards to be trim and western clothes worn when working at an official post.

In addition to requiring long beards, the Taliban also banned men from wearing western-style trousers and jackets.

The reaction has not been all positive. Many office workers have not been paid for months and some complain they do not have enough money to afford a new set of western clothes.

Even before these dress code changes came, Islamic clerics had warned the new interim government that it would succeed only if it did not interfere with Afghan traditions.

Karzai, an aristocratic Pashtun chief who often used to sport double-breasted blazers, has been careful to wear traditional Uzbek coats and Persian lamb-wool caps in Kabul.

The reformist King Amanullah, who ruled in the 1920s, learned to his cost what can happen if Afghans are pushed too fast toward modern life.

A great admirer of the Turkish reformer Kamal Ataturk, Amanullah urged women to take off the veil and had officials wear western clothes -- unleashing a rebellion that finally overthrew him in 1929.

-- Anonymous, December 30, 2001