Afghan men's hair and beards are under scrutiny by Taliban, UN says

A strict Islamic morality instrumentality introduced by Afghanistan's Taliban rulers six months agone has severely muzzled civilian liberties successful the country, according to a caller UN study released connected Thursday.

The instrumentality connected the propagation of virtuousness and prevention of vice (PVPV) was brought into unit successful August 2024 connected the acquisition of the Taliban's ultimate leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada.

The instrumentality is reminiscent of 1 successful spot during the Taliban's archetypal stint successful powerfulness successful the 1990s, and implements an Islamic civilian and motivation codification successful the country. Among different things, it stipulates that women indispensable screen their full bodies, including their faces, and whitethorn not question without a antheral companion.

However, the instrumentality has besides progressively targeted men's hairstyles and beard lengths, with much than fractional of the arrests made successful the archetypal six months concerning men's appearances, the study by the United Nations Assistance Mission successful Afghanistan (UNAMA) showed.

"Afghanistan's de facto authorities usage [the PVPV] to guarantee their imaginativeness of a axenic Islamic strategy is implemented nationwide," the study said, emphasizing that the instrumentality has constricted women's and girls' entree to nationalist spaces and wellness care, formal codification and travel.

The instrumentality has besides prevented UN agencies and different non-profits from delivering services to millions of radical crossed Afghanistan, the study, mandated by the UN Security Council, said.

Around 3,300 antheral "inspectors" are present deployed successful 28 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces, 540 successful the superior state of Kabul alone, the study said.

These inspectors person extended powers, including the close to detain individuals for up to 3 days and to destruct spot specified arsenic philharmonic instruments. Few women are employed arsenic inspectors, the survey said.

In summation to the superior interaction connected quality and women's rights, the study besides highlights the economical consequences of the Taliban's measures, pointing to a World Bank survey which puts the economical losses of enactment and acquisition bans for women astatine astir $1.4 billion.

Both women and men told UNAMA that the instrumentality "deprived families of
their incomes, exacerbated poorness and forced families to see migration."

"The nonstop and indirect socio-economic effects of PVPV instrumentality implementation are apt to compound Afghanistan's dire economical and humanitarian situation," the study stated.