Afghanistan's morality police are arresting men for "incorrect hairstyles" and missing prayers in mosques during Ramadan, a United Nations (UN) report said today.
According to a report by the UN Mission in Afghanistan on the first six months of implementing laws regulating the conduct of citizens, more than half of those arrested were "men who did not have the appropriate length of beards or hairstyles, and hairdressers who did not cut their hair and beards in accordance with Islamic rules."
The report indicates that the morality police detained people "arbitrarily, without due process and legal protection."
The Ministry of Vice and Virtue passed laws last August that regulate everyday life: including public transportation, music, shaving, celebrations.
Most significantly, the Ministry has banned women's voices from being heard in public and their faces from being completely covered.
The UN mission said that such measures have affected both sexes, and especially people with small businesses such as private education centers, barbers and hairdressers, tailors, wedding caterers and restaurants, leading to a reduction or complete loss of income and employment opportunities.
The UN believes that the implementation of the law is likely to worsen the difficult economic situation in Afghanistan.
A World Bank study estimates that the government's ban on women from attending school and working could cost the country more than $1,4 billion a year.
Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has emphasized the primacy of Islamic law and the role of the Ministry of Vice and Virtue in reforming society. More than 3.300 mostly male inspectors are tasked with informing citizens about the law and enforcing it.
In a message ahead of Eid al-Fitr, Akundzada said it was necessary to "establish a corruption-free society and prevent future generations from falling victim to wrong beliefs, harmful practices and bad morals."
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