Taliban says women lose value if men can see their faces in public: 'should be hidden'

A spokesman for Taliban's Ministry of Vice and Virtue says that women lose value if they don't wear a hijab and expose their faces in public.

"It is very bad to see women (without the hijab) in some areas (big cities), and our scholars also agree that women's faces should be hidden," Akif said. "It's not that her face will be harmed or damaged. A woman has her own value and that value decreases by men looking at her. Allah gives respect to females in hijab and there is value in this." Bradford Betz is a Fox News Digital breaking reporter covering crime, political issues, and much more. 

Akif’s comments come two years after the Taliban took over Afghanistan following 20 years of U.S. occupation. 

The radical Islamist group quickly re-imposed harsh restrictions on women’s dress and barred them from attending school – provoking global outrage, even from some Muslim-majority countries.