Hanfi: Beard Is Not Private; Justifying Street Harassment and Armed Raids.
Khalid Hanfi, the Taliban’s Minister for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, has claimed that individuals’ beards and clothing do not fall under personal privacy and that religious police have the right to intervene.
Saif-ul-Islam Khyber, the ministry’s spokesperson, released a portion of Hanfi’s speech on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, in which he questioned objections to trimming beards, wearing traditional caps, and Islamic garments, citing the principle of “enforcing Sharia law” and dismissing protests against these interventions as baseless.
In his speech, Hanfi emphasized that the duty of the ministry’s officers is to implement Sharia and rejected any claims that these measures interfere with personal life.
These statements come amid repeated reports that ministry officials have harassed people in public spaces, particularly women, imposing strict and intimidating measures that, according to residents, have turned public life into an atmosphere of fear and restriction.
Tensions escalated after Taliban officers, armed, raided a graduation ceremony of students in Herat just days earlier, threatening them and forcibly removing their traditional caps solely for wearing them.
Witnesses said the incident posed life-threatening risks for the students. Residents note that the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Sharia significantly infringes on personal freedoms, psychological safety, and citizens’ rights of choice.
