#DoNotTouchMyClothes – Taliban protest using women power instead of weapons

Hundreds of Afghan Women have taken to social media to protest against the Taliban’s dress code requirements for female students

Women are flooding social media with photos of themselves wearing colourful and traditional Afghan attire.

The online campaign is trending with hashtags like #DoNotTouchMyClothes and #AfghanistanCulture

The movement was started by Dr Bahar Jalali, who says she started the campaign because “one of my biggest concerns is Afghanistan’s identity and sovereignty is under attack”.

She urged other Afghan women to share theirs to show “the true face of Afghanistan” after posting a photo of her in a green dress

“I wanted to inform the world the attires that you’ve been seeing in the media [referring to those worn by women at the pro-Taliban rally] that’s not our culture, that’s not our identity,” she said.

Afghan traditional clothes for women include the sight of bright, colourful dresses – so what happened?

Every region of Afghanistan has its own traditional clothes.

Some women wear embroidered hats, others wear heavy headpieces, it all depends on which region of Afghanistan they come from.

However, there is a common thread, with colour, mirrors and embroidery. Clothes that represent their identity.

“This is our Afghan authentic dress. Afghan women wear such colourful and modest attires. The black bursa has never been part of the Afghan culture,” tweeted Spozhmay Maseed, a rights activist based in Virginia.

Taliban officials confirmed that women will be able to study and work in accordance with sharia law and local cultural traditions, but they must follow strict dress codes

Some Afghan women have already started dressing more modestly.

Women have also transitioned to blue garment “chadari” with only a mesh rectangle in front of the eyes – with more women wearing this in Kabul and other cities.