Taliban bans male government workers from turning up to the office without beards

Workers have also been told to wear traditional long, loose tops and trousers with a hat or turban, instead of western suits

The Taliban in Afghanistan has instructed all male government employees to wear a beard and adhere to the dress code or risk punishment.

On Tuesday, officials from the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice were seen inspecting men entering government offices, on the first day of the new dress code guidelines.

Employees were told they would not be permitted to enter offices and could eventually be fired if they violated the code.

Besides not shaving their beards, workers have been told not to wear western suits. They must instead wear traditional long, loose tops and trousers, with a hat or a turban to cover their heads, according to people aware of the development.

The men have also been directed to pray at the correct times, which entails doing so at least six times between dawn and dusk as practised under Islamic law.

Within a span of 10 days, the Taliban has turned the clock back on its claims, made soon after toppling the Ashraf Ghani regime last August, that it would be more progressive than its previous regime in the late 1990s.

Last week the Taliban performed a U-turn on allowing girls to attend high school, just moments before the students were set to resume classes after nearly nine months, in a regressive move that provoked a backlash from the international community.

It also banned women from travelling alone on flights in the absence of a male relative, preferably a family member.

In further restrictions, the Taliban said that the use of parks would be segregated based on sex, which effectively stops couples and families from going to these places together. Women can enter parks on only three days a week, while men will be able to go there on the other four days, which include the weekend.

The group has also banned international media broadcasts – including the Pashto and Persian BBC services – and foreign drama shows.

The backslide from the Taliban, in which it has introduced measures reminiscent of its previous hardline rule, has sparked a furious reaction globally.

“What a chilling week of imposed barbarous policies in Afghanistan by the Taliban,” said Shabnam Nasimi, policy adviser to the UK’s minister for refugees.

“Yet this week, more than any since takeover, revealed that Taliban’s harsh dogmatists have final say on policy. Taliban enacted further restrictions on women after extending girls school ban; broadened media crackdown; began policing beards. Taking a clear stance: doubling down,” said Andrew Watkins of the US Institute of Peace.

In their previous rule, spanning from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban banned women from leaving their house without a male family member, preferably their husband or father. It also asked men to grow beards.

Additional reporting by agencies