World

Afghan Taliban bar govt employees without beards from work

Officials are said to be patrolling entrances to govt offices to ensure compliance with the new rules

Reuters March 28, 2022

A Taliban fighter guards a street in Kabul, Afghanistan, December 16, 2021. PHOTO: REUTERS

KABUL:

Afghanistan's Taliban has instructed all government employees to wear a beard and adhere to a dress code or risk being fired, three sources told Reuters, the latest of several new restrictions imposed by the hardline administration.

The sources said representatives from the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice were patrolling the entrances to government offices on Monday to check that employees were in compliance with the new rules.

Employees were being instructed not to shave their beards and to wear local clothing consisting of a long, loose top and trousers, and a hat or turban. They were also told to ensure they prayed at the correct times, two of the sources said.

Workers were told they would from now on be unable to enter offices and would eventually be fired if they did not meet the dress codes, the sources said.

A spokesperson for the public morality ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Also read: Taliban ban Afghan women flying alone in latest setback on rights

Last week, the Taliban banned women from taking flights without a male chaperone and failed to open girls' schools as promised.

On Sunday it ordered parks to be segregated by sex, with women allowed to enter three days a week, and men the other four days, including the weekend, meaning even married couples and families cannot visit together.

The Taliban administration has drawn criticism at home and from Western governments for forcing its hardline interpretation of Islamic law onto all Afghans.

The Taliban say they will respect everyone's rights in line with Islamic law and Afghan customs and that they have changed since their 1996-2001 rule, when they barred women from leaving the house without a male relative and forced men to grow beards.

Wednesday's u-turn on girls' schools led to protests from the international community, including the United States, which pulled out of planned meetings with Taliban officials in Qatar to discuss key economic issues.

The Taliban needs Western countries to lift sanctions that are crippling the Afghan economy.

COMMENTS (2)

Pakiboy | 2 years ago | Reply If women in Europe and India are barred from educational institutes and offices for wearing veils its no surprise that on the other end of the spectrum something like this happens.

Sad Berg Alam | 2 years ago | Reply First of all there is no u-turn on girls education they are planning for the proper dress code and some other things after that they will facilitate them like they attend the graduation ceremony in University. Another thing they order to maintain beard only for the government employees not the civil people so this is also ok because every government has its decorum to potray their ideology and integrity to the International world. So this is not the topic for discussion avoid these things because you are helping the west agenda of behayayi. So leave them and let them live with sharia. Ya srf government k logo pr kar rahai hai q k agar government misaaal nhe banay ge to log fazool logo ko follow krna shoro krdayng.

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