Source: Times of India
SRINAGAR, INDIA, November 19, 2001: While the women of Afghanistan are celebrating the fall of the Taliban, their sisters in the Kashmir valley have also been liberated from wearing a burqa to cover their faces. Quoting Rifat Hyder, a working woman, ” If Afghan women who were covered from head to foot can now remove their robes, why should we cover our faces? Islam has ordained women to wear a loose dress but it does not mention wearing a burqa. These are alien to Kashmir.” Hindu women were exempt from the burqa requirement, but had to wear an identifying forehead mark.