#FreeHerFace: Afghan male anchors cover faces in support of women TV presenters
On social media, male TV presenters protest the newly issued diktat by the Taliban
On social media, male anchors are posting selfies with their faces covered, in solidarity with female news presenters in Afghanistan, Human Rights Watch reported.
While using the hashtag #FreeHerFace, male TV presenters at the main news channels in Afghanistan wore masks to protest the Taliban’s newly imposed order requiring female presenters to cover their faces.
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The act has been seen as brave as one women’s rights activist wrote, “Afghan men showing up for Afghan women is not just a gesture. It’s a turn in the story that will change everything. Brave brothers,” Human Rights Watch reported.
On May 9, Afghanistan's supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada issued a diktat for women to cover up fully in public, including their faces, ideally with the traditional burqa.
The Ministry for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice ordered women TV presenters to follow suit from Saturday.
But the presenters defied the order and went on air with their faces visible, only to fall in line with the directive on Sunday.
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Wearing full hijabs and face-covering veils that left only their eyes in view, women presenters and reporters aired morning news bulletins across leading channels like TOLOnews, Ariana Television, Shamshad TV and 1TV.
“[Saturday] was one of the hardest days of my life. They made us feel as if we had been buried alive,” "Mahira," a 27-old journalist and TV presenter, told Al Jazeera, with her identity withheld for her protection.
“I felt like I am not a human. I feel like I have committed a big crime which is why God made me a woman in Afghanistan,” she said.
“Which law in the world requires women to cover their faces on TV? Even in [other] Islamic countries, female news anchors or presenters do not wear masks,” the Afghan journalist added.
Women presenters were previously only required to wear a headscarf.