Shaven beards and women.. Two new controversial decisions by the Taliban

An Afghan source told Reuters that the Taliban’s Ministry of Public Ethics organized patrols at the entrances to all government offices, on Monday, to make sure employees wore beards and wore uniforms.

Three sources said that government representatives ordered all government employees not to shave their beards, and to wear local clothes consisting of a long, loose-fitting shirt, pants and a turban.

The sources added that it has been reported employees That from now on they will not be able to enter the offices, and will eventually be fired from their jobs, if they do not commit to growing beards and wearing the uniform.

On the other hand, the movement asked airlines in Afghanistan to prevent women from boarding planes, if they were not accompanied by a man from their family, according to Agence France-Presse.

This new decision comes amid growing concerns about women’s rights in Afghanistanunder shadow Taliban government Which came to power following the US military withdrawal from the country last August.

And earlier this March, the Taliban ordered the closure of secondary schools for girls in Afghanistan again, after they opened for a short time.

“Yes, that is true,” spokesman Inamullah Semenkani told AFP briefly, without giving further details, confirming information that the girls had been asked to return to their homes.

The girls were happy to be back in school for the first time since the hard-line movement seized power last August, but they closed their books, picked up their things and left in tears.

The international community has long emphasized the right of everyone to education, in the negotiations on aid to Afghanistan and recognition of the Taliban regime, and several countries and organizations have proposed paying teachers’ salaries to improve the educational system.