Taliban chief orders women to put on all-covering burqa in public: Decree

A girl sits with women sporting burqas outside a hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan October 5, 2021. (File photo: Reuters)

Published: 07 Might ,2022: 11:58 AM GST Up to date: 07 Could ,2022: 12:53 PM GST

Afghanistan’s supreme leader and Taliban chief on Saturday ordered the country’s women to put on the all-covering burqa in public - one of many harshest controls imposed on ladies’s lives because the Taliban seized power.

“They need to wear a chadori (head-to-toe burqa) as it's traditional and respectful,” stated a decree issued by Hibatullah Akhundzada that was released by Taliban authorities at a function in Kabul.

“These girls who are not too outdated or younger must cowl their face, except the eyes, as per sharia directives, with the intention to avoid provocation when meeting males who aren't mahram (adult close male relatives),” the decree said.

It added that if ladies had no essential work outdoors it was “better they stay at home.”

Throughout their first regime between 1996 and 2001, the Taliban imposed comparable restrictions on girls.