Taliban have ordered mannequin heads to be hacked off by shop owners in western Afghanistan, claiming that models depicting the human form violate Islamic law.
Men in Herat were seen chopping the heads off store dummies in a video that went viral on social media, attracting criticism from both inside and outside the country.
Since regaining control in August, the Taliban have imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law and severely limited liberties, especially for women and girls.
While the organisation has not published a clear national policy on mannequins — or any other creeping prohibitions — local governments are cracking down on what they consider to be unethical behaviour.
On Wednesday, Aziz Rahman, the head of Herat’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, confirmed the order to AFP.
Some merchants attempted to circumvent the decapitation order by covering mannequin heads with scarves or bags, but Rahman claimed that this was insufficient.
“The angel of Allah will not enter their shop or house and bless them whether they merely cover the head or hide the complete mannequin,” he claimed.
The directive enraged a number of retailers in the 600,000-person city.
“As you can see, we’ve taken the heads off,” a garment trader, Basheer Ahmed, told AFP, adding that each dummy cost 5,000 Afghanis (about $50).
“How do you expect us to sell our products without a mannequin?” When the outfit is draped appropriately over a mannequin, the consumer is pleased.”
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