Female anchors on major Afghan TV channels have gone on the air Sunday with their faces covered,

complying with the

Taliban 's order

a day after defying it

.

Since returning to power last year, the Taliban have imposed a series of restrictions on civil society, many of them aimed at limiting women's rights.

Earlier this month, the Taliban's paramount chief issued an order requiring women to cover themselves completely in public, including their faces, ideally with the traditional burqa.

Previously, just a scarf covering the hair was enough.

The feared Afghan Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice had ordered TV presenters to

do so by Saturday

.

But the journalists decided

not to obey that order

on Saturday, and went on the air, live, without hiding their faces.

But on

Sunday

, the women

wore full veils

, revealing only their eyes and forehead when presenting the news on TOLOnews, Ariana Television, Shamshad TV and 1TV.

"We have resisted and

are against the use

" of the full veil, TOLOnews presenter

Sonia Niazi

told AFP .

"But TOLOnews has been under pressure, (the Taliban) said that any presenter who appeared on the screen without covering her face should be given another job," she stated.

"We will continue with our fight"

"We will continue our fight using our voice. I will

be the voice of other Afghan women

," she promised after launching the newsletter.

"We will come to work until the Islamic emirate removes us from public space or forces us to stay at home."

"We will continue our fight

until our last breath

," said

Lima Spesaly

, presenter of 1TV, a few minutes before going on the air with her face covered.

TOLOnews director Khpolwak Sapai said the channel had been "forced" to implement the order for its staff. "They told us: you are obliged to do it. You must do it. There is no other solution," Sapai told AFP. .

"Yesterday they called me on the phone and told me in strict terms to do it. Therefore, we do not do it by choice, but forced," he lamented.

Mohamad Sadeq Akif Mohajir, a spokesman for the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, stated that the authorities had no intention of forcing the presenters to leave their jobs.

"We are happy that the channels have correctly exercised their responsibility," he told AFP.-

Restrictions on freedoms

The Taliban have ordered that women who work in the government be fired if they do not comply with the new dress code.

Employees also risk being suspended if their wives or daughters don't.

Returning to power in mid-August, the Taliban promised to introduce a more tolerant and flexible regime than during their first regime, between 1996 and 2001. But in recent months they have resumed the repression of the opposition and the erosion of freedoms, especially of women in education, work and daily life.

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