Taliban forces sack female bank workers in 2 provinces that have fallen under their jurisdiction as women in other provinces are unsure of the fate of their jobs.
According to the Independent, adverts featuring women wearing dresses have been painted over in Kabul after Taliban fighters entered Afghanistan’s capital on Sunday.
A man can be seen using a roller and white paint to cover up the large images outside a building in a photograph posted on Twitter by an Afghan journalist on Sunday.
The adverts appear to be outside Taj Beauty Salon, which describes itself as “the best bridal beauty salon in Afghanistan.”
READ ALSO: Taliban Takeover: US Fire Shots As Afghans Flood Airport
The incident comes despite a Taliban spokesperson’s claim that the militant group “will respect rights of women” when it takes control of Afghanistan.”
His comments followed reports a day earlier that women were sent home from their jobs in fallen provinces and told to leave universities in some instances.
In early July, as Taliban insurgents were seizing territory from government forces across Afghanistan, fighters from the group walked into the offices of Azizi Bank in the southern city of Kandahar and ordered nine women working there to leave.
The gunmen escorted them to their homes and told them not to return to their jobs. Instead, they explained that male relatives could take their place, according to three of the women involved and the bank’s manager.
“It’s really strange to not be allowed to get to work, but now this is what it is,” said 43-year-old Noor Khatera, who had worked in the accounts department of the bank.
“I taught myself English and even learnt how to operate a computer, but now I will have to look for a place where I can just work with more women around.”
The incident is an early sign that some of the rights won by Afghan women over the 20 years since the hardline Islamist militant movement was toppled could be reversed.
