Taliban orders beheading of mannequins and statues in Afghanistan

A note to shopkeepers said: “All the statues and mannequins in your stores must be headless."

This is in the continuous stretch of crackdown that the extrimists-led administration in Afghanistan is pursuing ever since the fall of democratically elected government in Kabul on August 15, 2021.

The Taliban has said that the use of “mannequins” is a breach of the Shariah law.

Previously, the so-called Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice had ordered all the shops in Herat to dispose off the mannequins. However, after the business owners complained of heavy losses in an already fragile war-torn business atmosphere, the Taliban will now behead the mannequins.

The Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice is responsible for ensuring the Taliban's strict interpretation of Islam.

The Taliban have ruled that these mannequins were 'idols'.

Sheikh Aziz-u-Rahman, head of the ministry, had made the announcement.

According to the business owners, the beheading of the mannequins still means financial loss for them.

"The heads of the mannequins should be covered, not removed. Each mannequin costs $100, or $80 or $70, and beheading them will be a huge financial loss," Abdul Wadood Faiz Zada, clothing business owner told Italian newspaper Repubblica.

Afghanistan, after being resurrected into democratic relevance for two decades by support funds from western nations and aid money, is nearing collapse since the Taliban retook country's control in August last year.

The United Nations' food programme warns that up to half the population are now facing starvation before the end of winter, as economic catastrophe combines with drought to plunge huge numbers into poverty.

Source Taliban orders beheading of mannequins and statues in Afghanistan (msn.com)