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

A lady sits with women carrying burqas exterior a hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan October 5, 2021. (File photo: Reuters)

Printed: 07 Could ,2022: 11:58 AM GST Updated: 07 Could ,2022: 12:53 PM GST

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

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

“These women who are usually not too outdated or younger should cover their face, except the eyes, as per sharia directives, with the intention to keep away from provocation when meeting males who aren't mahram (grownup shut male family),” the decree mentioned.

It added that if girls had no vital work exterior it was “better they keep at residence.”

During their first regime between 1996 and 2001, the Taliban imposed similar restrictions on women.