Several residents of Kabul have expressed concern over increasing restrictions and the closure of barbershops in the capital. They criticize the Taliban’s actions, stating that without a long beard, their complaints and requests are not taken seriously in government institutions and offices. Residents of the capital also emphasize that they face verbal and gender-based violence due to shaving their beards or not having one. They report that Taliban fighters, under the pretext of beard-shaving, touch their hair and faces. According to Kabul residents, the continuation of this situation has negatively impacted not only their businesses but also the mental health of individuals.
Some residents of the capital express concern that when visiting government institutions, if their beard is not long or they do not wear traditional attire like shalwar kameez, their requests and complaints are ignored. They say that sometimes Taliban fighters or other officials of the group focus solely on their appearance instead of addressing the actual issue.
Bizhan, a Kabul resident, says: “Whenever you visit government offices, if you have a long beard, your case is prioritized, and even if you don’t follow the queue, it doesn’t cause an issue.”
This Kabul resident adds: “Once, in the Kotal-e Khairkhana area, my vehicle collided with another. I wasn’t at fault, but the Taliban traffic officials, instead of addressing the guilty driver, focused on my appearance and said, ‘Look at your mustache, it’s too much, you’ve become like the communists, the infidels.’”
Bizhan continues: “Another time, in the Microrayan intersection, a Taliban member stopped my vehicle, touched my face, and asked where I had shaved my beard and why I had done so. They also asked why my mustache was so prominent.”
Samiullah, a doctor and manager of a health center in Kabul, shares a similar experience. He says, “My clinic’s license was still valid for another month and was due for renewal, but when Taliban members came for inspection, they took the license with them and summoned me to the district office.”
The doctor adds, “In my entire life, I had never felt so humiliated; that day, I regretted being human. Taliban members, with insulting behavior, told me: ‘By wearing these pants, have you exposed your body to be used sexually?’”
While Kabul residents complain about the Taliban’s humiliating treatment, the group has once again warned male barbers not to style men’s hair in Western fashion. Failure to comply with this order could result in barbershops being shut down for three to six months.
Baryalai, a resident of Kabul, says that two days ago, he visited a barbershop, but the barber refused to cut his hair. The barber explained that the restrictions are being strictly enforced, and if he violates them, his shop will be closed. He adds: “Shaving beards with a machine is completely prohibited. In general, modern hairstyles and grooming are banned. In areas like Shahr-e Naw, Microrayan, and Wazir Akbar Khan, these restrictions are even more severe.”
He says: “All barbershop owners have been summoned to their respective district offices and warned that if they fail to comply with the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, their shops will be closed—10 days for the first offense, two months for the second, and six months for the third.”
Ubaid (pseudonym), another Kabul resident, visited a barbershop in Pul-e Surkh with a colleague yesterday to get a haircut and beard trim. He says that while one side of his beard was trimmed and the other was still incomplete, the Taliban Morality Police entered the barbershop. They expelled his colleague and shut down the shop.
Meanwhile, a barbershop in Microrayan was also closed yesterday for failing to comply with the Taliban’s imposed regulations.
The Taliban have also issued a directive requiring government employees to grow beards and wear Kandahari caps or turbans. According to this order, failure to comply with these regulations will result in dismissal or being marked absent.
Previously, the Hasht-e Subh Daily obtained documents showing that Taliban authorities in Balkh had extracted written commitments from government employees to grow beards, wear Kandahari caps, and follow Hibatullah Akhundzada’s orders. The documents stated that employees pledged to prepare their appearance per “Sharia Law” and Akhundzada’s commands.
The Associated Press (AP) reported that in the first six months of this year, more than half of the detentions in Afghanistan were due to men’s hairstyles and beard lengths, with barbershops being targeted.
Residents complain that Taliban members touch their faces under the pretext of checking beards, while previous reports have highlighted multiple instances of “Bacha Bazi” (child sexual exploitation) within the Taliban’s ranks.
The U.S. Department of Labor, in its 2023 report titled “Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor – Afghanistan,” stated that the Taliban use children in their ranks as “soldiers” and as “sex slaves.”
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
ریش و کلاه قندهاری؛ پیششرط عبور از خطوط طالبان: سلمانیها همچنان تحت فشارند
