The Taliban on Monday prevented the entry of beardless government employees to their offices in Afghanistan.
Eyewitnesses said that representatives of the Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan stopped the staff members of the Ministry of Finance at the gate because they were beardless, reported The Khaama Press.
The employees were allowed to enter the ministry only after they wear the hats as recommended by the Taliban representatives.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice denied government employees having been stopped at the gate, reported The Khaama Press.
Spokesperson of the Ministry Muhammad Sadiq Akif said, the staff members of the Finance Ministry were stopped for instruction and recommendation by the representatives of the Ministry of Virtue and vice.
"All government bodies were instructed not to allow women without hijab and male employees of government administrations to fit their appearance in accordance with Sharia law," said Akif.
The decision is condemned even by pro-Taliban figures reasoning Islam has never forced people to grow beards.
The Taliban after taking over Afghanistan last August has put many restrictions on Afghans and particularly women.
The Taliban's Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice earlier issued posters around the capital Kabul ordering Afghan women to cover up.
Meanwhile, the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan is a nightmare for Afghan women. They have imposed many repressive rules on women including banning education, work, and long travel.
After Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, the incidents of threatening women are becoming a 'new normal'.
The Taliban have also banned hairdressers in Afghanistan from shaving or trimming beards.
The group is re-imposing repressive laws and retrograde policies. They are imposing laws that defined its 1996-2001 rule when they enforced their version of Islamic Sharia law.
( With inputs from ANI )
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