The Islamic State group has reportedly banned women from wearing a burka, a veil that covers the entire face, as a security precaution in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
(IBT)- The alleged new rule is striking in part because the militant group also known as ISIS has beaten and killed women in the past for refusing to wear the conservative garment.
Militant leaders banned burqas after a group of veiled women carried out attacks against several ISIS commanders, according to media reports Tuesday. Women wearing burqas will no longer be allowed to enter buildings in Mosul, an ISIS stronghold, while wearing the full-body covering.
Instead, they must wear gloves and gauze to cover their eyes. ISIS’ morality police will continue to require women to wear the burqa outside of Mosul’s new security rule, the Jerusalem Post reported.
ISIS has a poor record when it comes to women’s rights, according to a recent Human Rights Watch report. The group is accused of raping and trading women and limiting women’s freedom of movement, access to health care and education.
“Some women said they felt deeply humiliated by their treatment by ISIS, and two said they felt so depressed they had wanted to kill themselves,” the report stated.