Taliban fires teachers with short beards

In the northern Afghan province of Sar-e Pol, Taliban Education Department officials have warned 168 teachers with short beards that they will be dismissed from their schools unless they grow long beards, as part of an operation to monitor school officials and teachers.

In a letter sent to school teachers and staff, the provincial head of the education department, Mawlawi Mohammad Rahmani, stated that "approximately 168 teachers and staff in the administration do not comply with Islamic law and teachings."

The letter, sent by the head of the Taliban Education Department to education offices in cities across Sar-e Pol Province, included a list of the 168 individuals along with their personal information.

In this letter, the government official wrote that the offense committed by these individuals was having short beards.

In his letter, Rahmani highlighted the penalty for those who do not comply with his warning, announcing that the teachers and staff named in the statement would be fired if they did not conform to the Taliban government's definition of Islamic law.

A source from the city of Sar-e Pol who sent this message to the Independent Persian newspaper said that Taliban Education Department officials have resorted to mass dismissals of teachers and staff employed during the previous republican government if they do not adhere to religion and Sharia.

While the views of followers of Islamic movements on beards differ, they agree that a beard should not be shorter than a certain length. The Taliban, however, even opposes the trimming of beards and warns all employees in government and public institutions and departments not to shave their beards so that the appearance of men does not resemble those living in Western countries.

Over the past two years, the Taliban has dismissed hundreds of civil servants, including male and female teachers, on various flimsy pretexts and replaced them with their own members.

In the same context, the Taliban's Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, which holds great power and influence within the movement's political system, has established an institution to teach religious subjects to government employees by conducting tests to determine their levels of belief and understanding regarding Islamic law and teachings. Over the last two years, it has dismissed a number of employees due to their failure in these religious belief tests.

However, although some Taliban government officials, including Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, claim in international meetings and conferences that none of the former employees of the Afghan government have been fired, figures released by the International Labour Organization show that more than half a million people have lost their jobs since the movement took control of Afghanistan, and some of these were employed in state institutions and departments.

News Source: Independent Türkçe