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

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

Revealed: 07 Might ,2022: 11:58 AM GST Updated: 07 May ,2022: 12:53 PM GST

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

“They should put on a chadori (head-to-toe burqa) as it is traditional and respectful,” said a decree issued by Hibatullah Akhundzada that was launched by Taliban authorities at a function in Kabul.

“Those girls who will not be too old or younger must cover their face, besides the eyes, as per sharia directives, in order to keep away from provocation when meeting men who are usually not mahram (adult close male family members),” the decree said.

It added that if girls had no vital work outside it was “higher they stay at home.”

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