Don't Touch My Clothes: Afghan Women Are Protesting Taliban's Burqa Order, One Photo At A Time

Afghan women across the world have started an online campaign to protest against the strict new dress code for female students imposed by the Taliban. They are posting photos of themselves wearing colourful traditional Afghan dresses on social media using hashtags like #DoNotTouchMyClothes and #AfghanistanCulture.

Campaign started by Dr Bahar Jalali

The campaign started by Dr Bahar Jalali, a former history professor at the American University in Afghanistan, has seen hundreds of women posting their photos as well as comments against the Taliban rules.

Twitter

Jalali said she started the campaign "to inform, educate, and dispel the misinformation that is being propagated by Taliban".

"No woman has ever dressed like this in the history of Afghanistan. This is utterly foreign and alien to Afghan culture. I posted my pic in the traditional Afghan dress to inform, educate, and dispel the misinformation that is being propagated by Taliban," Jalali said.

"This is Afghan culture. I am wearing a traditional Afghan dress," Jalali tweeted a picture of herself in a green Afghan dress.

This is Afghan culture. I am wearing a traditional Afghan dress. #AfghanistanCulture pic.twitter.com/DrRzgyXPvm

¡ª Dr. Bahar Jalali (@RoxanaBahar1) September 12, 2021

Traditional dress of Afghanistan

The traditional Afghan clothing for women includes flowing dresses covering the ankles. Women also wear headscarves to cover their head. However, the conservative burqa was imposed by the Taliban in the previous regime and has been brought back again by the new leaders who took over Afghanistan on August 15.

The campaign has now garnered over hundreds of tweets by women residing in Afghanistan and abroad. The women are posting photos of themselves dressed in traditional Afghan clothing in a mark of protest against the burqa that covers the entire face and body of women.

"I wear my traditional Afghan dress proudly. It's colourful and beautiful. Not at all like the images you saw circulating yesterday. Thank you @RoxanaBahar1 who's encouraging us #AfghanWomen to share the beauty of #AfghanistanCulture," another Tahmina Aziz tweeted.

This is the real #afghan culture the #taliban are trying to hide?? #AfghanistanCulture #DoNotTouchMyClothes #AfghanWomen #Afghanistan Thank you to @RoxanaBahar1 for inspiring this movement to show the world real #AfghanCulture pic.twitter.com/9zMi6cLi4W

¡ª Tamana Nasir (@tamana_nasir) September 14, 2021

Campaign garnered hundreds of tweets

Afghan women, cultural campaign, traditional dress.#AfghanistanCulture ?? pic.twitter.com/Qey9mdzVDT

¡ª Mustafa Kamal Kakar (@MustafaKamalMKK) September 12, 2021

Afghan women have started online campaign to protest Taliban's dress code. They post their photos with their traditional clothes and use #DoNotTouchMyClothes , #AfghanistanCulture and #AfghanWomen tags. pic.twitter.com/75EY5EYOMK

¡ª sibghat ullah (@sibghat51539988) September 12, 2021

I wear my traditional Afghan dress proudly.

It's colourful and beautiful.

Not at all like the images you saw circulating yesterday.

Thank you @RoxanaBahar1 who's encouraging us #AfghanWomen to share the beauty of #AfghanistanCulture. pic.twitter.com/OAyNhku78l

¡ª Tahmina Aziz (@tahmina_aziz) September 12, 2021

this is what an afghan woman looks like. this is our culture. this is our traditional dress. we love lots of colour. even our rice is colourful and so is our flag.
Inspo @RoxanaBahar1 ?? pic.twitter.com/cj3FxfzROT

¡ª Sodaba ?????? (@SodabaH) September 12, 2021

On Saturday, photos emerged of women students wearing head-to-toe black robes and waving Taliban flags in the lecture hall of a government-run university in Kabul.

Other diktats on women by Taliban

Since the Taliban takeover, the hardliners have come up with several orders, curbing women¡¯s freedom in Afghanistan. However, the Taliban administration have announced that Afghan women will be allowed to study in universities as the country seeks to rebuild itself, but gender-segregation and Islamic dress code will be mandatory.

The Taliban education minister has said female students would be taught by women wherever possible and classrooms would remain separated, in accordance with the Taliban¡¯s interpretation of the Sharia law.