Taliban demands UN male employees in Afghanistan grow beards

The Taliban’s vice and virtue department in Herat has issued a new directive, ordering male United Nations employees to refrain from coming to work without beards, sources within the UN said.

On February 8 afternoon, Taliban officials visited the Islam Qala centre in Herat, where they issued a warning to male employees. The directive stipulates that shaving or trimming beards will result in imprisonment. This order follows the Taliban’s previous bans on beard trimming in government institutions and academic environments, signalling a continued enforcement of strict social codes, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

This latest development comes at a time when humanitarian operations in Afghanistan are facing growing challenges. In a report from December, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) highlighted severe access constraints. In November, 164 incidents were recorded, marking a 56 per cent increase from October and an 11 per cent rise compared to the same period in 2022.

The report pointed out that 99 per cent of these incidents were attributed to actions by the Taliban, with the Southern, Central Highlands, Western, and Central regions accounting for 67 per cent of the cases. These obstacles have significantly disrupted aid delivery, resulting in the temporary suspension of 72 projects, the permanent halting of two initiatives, and the closure of one facility.

By Khagan Isayev