As Taliban starts restricting men too, some regret not speaking up sooner

[mahatmakanejeeves]

As Taliban starts restricting men too, some regret not speaking up sooner

Beside imposing severe rules on women, new laws require men to grow fist-length beards and bar them from imitating non-Muslims in appearance or behavior.


Afghan men ride motorcycles along a road in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on Aug. 28. (Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty Images)

By Rick Noack
September 22, 2024 at 2:00 a.m. EDT

As the Taliban starts enforcing draconian new rules on women in Afghanistan, it has also begun to target a group that didn’t see tight restrictions on them coming: Afghan men.

Women have faced an onslaught of increasingly severe limits on their personal freedom and rules about their dress since the Taliban seized power three years ago. But men in urban areas could, for the most part, carry on freely.

The past four weeks, however, have brought significant changes for them, too. New laws promulgated in late August mandate that men wear a fist-long beard, bar them from imitating non-Muslims in appearance or behavior, widely interpreted as a prohibition against jeans, and ban haircuts that are against Islamic law, which essentially means short or Western styles. Men are now also prohibited from looking at women other than their wives or relatives. … As a result, more are growing beards, carrying prayer rugs and leaving their jeans at home.

These first serious restrictions on men have come as a surprise to many in Afghanistan, according to a range of Afghans, including Taliban opponents, wavering supporters and even members of the Taliban regime, who spoke in phone interviews over the past two weeks. In a society where a man’s voice is often perceived as far more powerful than a woman’s, some men now wonder whether they should have spoken up sooner to defend the freedoms of their wives and daughters.

{snip}

Haq Nawaz Khan and Lutfullah Qasimyar contributed to this report.

By Rick Noack
Rick Noack is The Washington Post's Afghanistan bureau chief. Previously at The Post, he was the Paris correspondent, covering France and Europe, and an international affairs reporter based in Berlin, London and Washington.follow on X @rick_n

[Historic NY]

1. I don't care, we spent enough time there.

They had years to stand up.

[delisen]

2. As a women my fate is tied to women globally

Whether it is women in Texas or Afghanistan.

When men understand that their fate is tied to to that of women, only then will we be able to live free from fear of authoritarian takeovers,

It was Donald Trump,fueled by religious extremists here, who chose to empower the terrorist authoritarian Taliban by bypassing the government of Afghanistan and dealing directly with these terrorists at Camp David who caused the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

[Hope22]

4. This!

Exactly why American women are dying from childbirth related issues and losing stature in this ‘society’. The majority of the men in the US have not made a call, written an email or spoken out to protect their daughters, sisters, wives, mother, neighbors and friends. Protecting the rights of others here is everyone’s job. I have to say this article did make me stifle a chuckle. Generations of those men have enjoyed the enslaving of their women and have said nothing. Put your burkas on boys and your beard will be hidden. We are so screwed if we have to wait for this in order for all Americans to wake up!

[aeromanKC]

3. Don't be a sucker

It's ok when it's not you, but just wait .....

[Scrivener7]

5. Those darn face-eating leopards fooled the guys again.

[poozwah]

6. coming attractions

this is what happens when a nation sits quietly while the rights of the minorities and powerless are taken from them by a radical religious cult. many of these men did nothing because these radicals were not bothering them, or because they were fearful. if americans choose trump, we will begin seeing christaban or evangelaban types robbing us of our rights. it is what they do. is is what they have always done. they know that apathy and fear are their best allies.

[UpInArms]

7. Niemoller warning

“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out,
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out,
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out,
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak for me.”

[Deuxcents]

8. We should know this by heart..most of us do but obviously not enough

As we see it repeated throughout the world by not standing up or speaking up before it’s too late.

[UpInArms]

9. I live by this ...

an injustice to one, is an injustice to all.

[Deuxcents]

10. Perfect way to relate to the Niemoller Warning