Ground Report | New Delhi: Taliban ban barbers; The Taliban have banned barbers from shaving or shortening beards in Afghanistan’s Helmand province. They say it violates their interpretation of Islamic law. Taliban religious police say that anyone who violates this rule will be punished.
Some barbers in the capital, Kabul, have said they have received similar orders. From these instructions, it is understood that the old hardline regime of the Taliban is going back to when there were strict rules. Although the Taliban had promised that it would be soft this time.
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Taliban ban barbers
After seizing power last month, the Taliban have given harsh punishments to their opponents. Reports came on Saturday that Taliban fighters killed four accused in a kidnapping case and hung their bodies on the streets of Herat province.
Notices have been pasted outside salons in Helmand province in which Taliban officials have warned barbers to follow Sharia law for cutting hair and beards.
A hairdresser in Kabul said, “The fighters are coming again and again and ordering us not to shave our beards.” Another hairdresser said he might even send an undercover inspector to catch them.
Another barber, who runs a major salon in the city, said that he too had received a phone call and the man had posed as a government official. He ordered them to ‘stop following the American style’ and not to shave or shave anyone’s beard at all.
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Fashion salons
During the Taliban’s first regime between 1996 and 2001, the hardline Islamist group banned seductive hairstyles and insisted on growing men’s beards. However, after the departure of the Taliban, the clean-shaven look became common and many Afghans went to salons to get trendy haircuts.
Many barbers have requested not to make their identities public. They say that the new laws will make it difficult for them to earn income, which can make their life difficult. A barber told the BBC, “For many years my salon has been shaving young people and they shave the way they want.” “There is no point in continuing this business now.”
Another hairdresser said, “Fashion salons and barbers are now going to be banned businesses. This was my job for the last 15 years and now I don’t think I will be able to continue.”
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