Taliban orders all women TV presenters in Afghanistan to cover their faces. 'They are afraid of educated women,' said one.

• The Taliban said female TV presenters have to cover their faces while they are on air.
• One presenter told the BBC she thinks the Taliban did it so women would leave the industry.

The Taliban ordered all women TV presenters in Afghanistan to cover their faces while on air.

Staff at Afghanistan's independent TOLOnews were told about the new rule on Wednesday by the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, CNN reported.

The staff at other media outlets were told on the same day, according to the BBC.

The new rule will come into effect on May 21, though female presenters are being advised to make the change earlier, Reuters reported.

CNN reported that two presenters cried when they spoke to CNN about the change.

Khatera, aged 27, said told CNN: "They want women to be removed from the screen. They are afraid of an educated woman."

"First, they deprived girls from going to school and then they came onto media now. I am sure, they don't want the presence of women in general," she adds.

The Taliban closed girls' high schools in March.

Another female presenter who works in Kabul told the BBC that she thinks the change was designed to push women out of the industry.

"They are putting indirect pressure on us to stop us presenting on TV," she said.

"How can I read the news with my mouth covered? I don't know what to do now - I must work, I am the breadwinner of my family."

She asked not to be named in the report out of fear of punishment for speaking out.

The Taliban retook control in August 2021.

They said they would protect women's rights, but have since rolled back many rights and freedoms that women there had before the takeover.

The Taliban ruled earlier this month that Afghan women will have to cover their faces in public, and that their closest male relative could be punished if they do not comply.