Afghan women are sharing photos of dresses to protest the Taliban's black hijab mandate

(CNN) Afghan women around the world are protesting the Taliban's new hijab requirement in schools by posting photos of themselves wearing colorful traditional dresses on social media.

In recent days the Taliban has mandated the segregation of genders in classrooms and said female students, lecturers and employees must wear hijabs in accordance with the group's interpretation of Sharia law.

On Saturday photos emerged of a group of female students wearing head-to-toe black robes and waving Taliban flags in the lecture hall of a government-run university in Kabul.

Veiled students hold Taliban flags as they listen a speaker before a pro-Taliban rally at the Shaheed Rabbani Education University in Kabul on September 11.

Other Afghan women responded by posting pictures of themselves in bright and colorful traditional Afghan dresses -- a stark contrast to the black hijab mandate outlined by the Taliban.

Bahar Jalali, a former faculty member of the American University of Afghanistan according to her LinkedIn, helped kick off the picture posting campaign, according to other women who shared photos on Twitter.