KABUL: Afghanistan's supreme leader and Taliban chief on Saturday ordered the country's women to wear the all-covering burqa in public -- one of the harshest controls imposed on women's lives since the hardline Islamists seized power.

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