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(COMTEX) Afghan barbers trim beards despite fear of punishment
KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov 30, 1998 (AP Worldstream via COMTEX) --
Professional beard trimming is a clandestine business in Taliban-ruled
Kabul, where shaving is a crime that can land you in jail or get you
beaten.
Inside their homes, barbers trim the beards of a brave few who sneak a
quick trim while getting a haircut.
The ban on shaving was imposed by the Taliban army _ Islamic religious
students turned guerrilla fighters _ after it took control of Kabul in
September 1996 and imposed a strict version of Islamic law.
''It is not just women who have suffered under the Taliban ... men have also borne the brunt,'' said Zulmair Khan, who was having his beard trimmed because, he said, ''hairs comes into my mouth when I eat.''
His frustration surpassed his fear of punishment.
''The Taliban can punish me for this, but this long beard _ especially
when it is untrimmed _ really makes my life miserable,'' he said.
The job was done quickly and only after the barber posted his 8 year old son as a sentry to watch for patrolling Taliban soldiers.
''Don't fall asleep ... warn us if you see them,'' said Zahir, who gave only one name.
He snipped briskly, worrying his young son would tire of his task and
his vigilance wane.
''Some men really beg and implore me to shorten their beards ... so I
have to take the risk,'' Zahir said.
He said he wasn't worried Taliban authorities might be able to identify him from a news story, because his name is common in Afghanistan.
In Kabul, once a relatively sophisticated capital where European
fashions were worn by the city's well-to-do, music has been banned by
the Taliban along with most forms of light entertainment.
''Men miss even small things in life, which comes so normally
everywhere else,'' Khan said while getting his beard trimmed.
The Taliban's no-shaving edict comes from their belief that Islam's
prophet Mohammed ruled against shaving.
Barbers have been given strict orders to not even touch a beard with a
pair of scissors because it is ''un-Islamic.''
Taliban leaders also have their own idea of an ''Islamic hair style,''
Zahir said.
The forehead should be free of hair so as not to interfere when a man
prays and touches his forehead to his prayer mat. Center parting is
fine and closely shaved in the back is best.
About 1,000 Taliban militiamen patrol the streets, often armed with
steel wires, to publicly beat offenders.
One shopkeeper, Innyat Ullah, said he misses the looser rules of the
days of communist rule under then President Najibullah, who was hanged
by the Taliban for prolonging the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and
causing the death of 1.5 million Afghans.
But for Ullah those days were memorable for other reasons.
''I used to shave my beard daily ... wear trousers and live a normal
life, but now all those days are a memory. The present is bitter and
dark.''
Today men are required to wear the traditional Afghan ''shalwar kameez, '' a pajama-like outfit of baggy pants and long shirt.
When the Taliban first arrived in Kabul, the more zealous religious
policemen would check men's armpits for hair, which also is forbidden.
Zahir, who charges 10,000 Afghanis (28 cents) for a hair cut, says his
business is barely operating. Where he once employed eight barbers,
there is now only one.
Copyright 1998 Associated Press, All rights reserved.
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By AMIR ZIA
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