Taliban Authorities Fire More Than 280 Security Forces Because They Don't Have Beards

Illustration of the Taliban. (Wikimedia Commons/Callum Darragh)

JAKARTA - The Taliban's morals ministry has fired more than 280 members of the security forces for not growing beards and has detained more than 13,000 people in Afghanistan for "immoral acts" last year, officials said on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Crime Prevention and the Spread of Virtue said in its annual operating update, about half of those detained had been released after 24 hours. The ministry did not specify the types of offenses alleged or gender of the detainees.

Mohibullah Mokhlis, director of Planning and Legislation, said at a press conference officials had destroyed 21,328 musical instruments last year and prevented thousands of computer operators from selling "immoral and unethical" films in the market.

The ministry has identified 281 members of the security forces because they do not have beards and they have been laid off, he said, in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic law.

The moral ministry, which took over the office of the women's ministry dissolved in Kabul after the Taliban took over in 2021, has been criticized by human rights organizations and the United Nations, for restrictions on women and hindering freedom of expression.

The United Nations mission in Afghanistan has reported cases of moral ministry officials stopping and detaining women, sometimes for several hours, for not meeting their interpretation of Islamic clothing.

The Taliban called the detention allegations "baseless" and said the rules applied their interpretation of Islamic law and Afghan customs.

The moral ministry does not provide figures regarding the surveillance of women's clothing or their journey without male guardians, which are also prohibited by the authorities for further distance. It said the new plan was being drafted to ensure that its Islamic fashion rules were complied with, supervised by the highest spiritual leader based in the southern city of Kandahar.

"Based on the direction of the Supreme Leader, the draft plan to comply with the women's hijab (Imani business) has been formulated and approved," said Mokhlis.

The moral ministry previously said women should cover their faces or wear a burqa that covers their entire bodies, with its enforcement going to involve "encouraging" by targeting male family members, not women directly.

Mokhlis added that they had prevented more than 200 cases of women's sales and more than 2,600 cases of violence against women.