RASC News Agency: According to information received by the media from the Ministry of Education in the province of Sar-e Pol, nearly 200 teachers have been warned and threatened with dismissal by the Taliban leadership in the province for trimming their beards.
Based on a written document issued by the Ministry of Education in Sar-e Pol, which reached the media on October 27th, the Taliban group has issued a warning to 168 teachers and employees of this department.
In this document, the Taliban group has stated that the warning was issued due to the trimming of beards and not allowing the beards to grow long by the teachers and employees. It is claimed that during the process of “monitoring facial appearance,” the beards of these teachers and employees have been shortened.
According to this document, not having a long beard and not wearing a turban is considered a crime. Meanwhile, one of the teachers who wished to remain anonymous stated to the media that the Taliban are looking for excuses to dismiss them.
The teacher also added that the head of the Taliban Ministry of Education intends to dismiss them and appoint graduates and religious school students as teachers in their place.
However, another teacher from Sar-e Pol province, from the district of Kohistanat, stated that having a long beard is neither obligatory nor necessary, and individuals have the freedom to decide whether or not to have one.
It should be noted that the Taliban have previously obtained assurances from government employees in several other provinces to trim their beards.
Meanwhile, it is worth mentioning that according to sources in the province of Bamiyan, the Taliban group, within the Ministry of Education in this province, has dismissed Qualified figures from key positions and replaced them with non-qualified individuals who lack the ability to perform the duties of these positions.
