In their latest crackdown on civil liberties, barbers in Afghanistan's Helmand Province have been prohibited from shaving men's beards and from playing music, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/26/world/taliban-afghanistan-beards-music-intl/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a> reports. A statement from the Taliban's department of virtue and vice issued on Sunday, September 26, reads: "You are urgently informed that from today, shaving beards and playing music in barbershops and public baths are strictly prohibited." The Taliban has also warned that there will be punishments for those who wish to not abide by the new law. "If any barbershop or public bath is found to have shaved anyone's beard or played music, they will be dealt with according to the Sharia principles and they will not have the right to complain," the Taliban added. <img class=" wp-image-1263127558" src="https://img.vt.co/2021/09/Screen-Shot-2021-09-27-at-11.36.43.png" alt="" width="615" height="411" />[[imagecaption|| Credit: Alamy / Ton Koene]] According to the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-58700159" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BBC</a>, some barbers in the country's capital, Kabul, have received similar rules. Per the publication, one barber in the capital alleged, "The fighters keep coming and ordering us to stop trimming beards. One of them told me they can send undercover inspectors to catch us." Another barber, who runs one of Kabul's most popular hair salons, claimed he received a phone call from someone who said they were a government official. They reportedly told him to "stop following American styles", and to not trim or shave beards. <img class=" wp-image-1263124631" src="https://img.vt.co/2021/08/Taliban-Footage-FI-Website.jpg" alt="" width="570" height="297" />[[imagecaption|| Credit: Alamy / UPI]] After the Taliban took full control of the country by seizing Kabul in August, the militant group said that their rule will be less harsh than it was during their previous stint in the country, from 1996 - 2001. However, recent crackdowns — especially in regards to women's rights — have called this into question. Earlier this month, the fundamentalist group told women and girls to stay home from work and school by announcing that high schools would only reopen for boys. A statement — which did not address the education of girls or female teachers — read, per <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/17/taliban-ban-girls-from-secondary-education-in-afghanistan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Guardian</a>: "All male teachers and students should attend their educational institutions." This makes Afghanistan the only country to prohibit half of its population from getting further education. <h6>Feature image credit: Alamy / Farhad Hashimi</h6>

Taliban ban Afghan barbers from trimming men's beards and to 'stop following American styles'

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