Taliban bans shaving of beards in Afghan province
- The order was issued to barbers by the provincial Taliban government’s vice and virtue department
- The note said anyone violating the rule would be punished, and ‘no one has a right to complain’
The Taliban on Monday banned barbershops in a southern Afghanistan province from shaving or trimming beards, claiming their edict is in line with sharia, or Islamic, law.
The order in Helmand province was issued by the provincial Taliban government’s vice and virtue department to barbers in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital.
“Since I have heard [about the ban on trimming beards] I am heart broken,” said Bilal Ahmad, a Lashkar Gah resident.
“This is the city and everyone follows a way of living, so they have to be left alone to do whatever they want.”
Business cut for Afghanistan’s barbers as men grow beards under Taliban rule
During their previous rule of Afghanistan, the Taliban adhered to a harsh interpretation of Islam. Since overrunning Kabul on Aug. 15 and again taking control of the country, the world has been watching to see whether they will re-create their strict governance of the late 1990s,