Taliban have ordered shops not to show female mannequin heads

In western Herat province in Afghanistan, an official in the Directorate of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice said the department will start doing only good from now on. In Islamic Sharia law, it is prohibited to show the heads of female mannequins in shops, and their heads will be removed, according to Raha Press.

As per reports, he said that looking at mannequins' faces is against Sharia law. It comes a day after a group in Kabul decided not to allow drivers to offer rides to unveiled women without close male relatives.

Several shopkeepers in Herat raised concerns about the Taliban's instruction and claimed the Taliban are making their lives more difficult by the day.

Shopkeepers complained they purchased mannequins for $100-$200 each, but now they need to remove their heads. One Herati shopkeeper, Ali Ahmad, said in a report, "These mannequins are the only items I own at this time, and now I have to cut their heads off. It is a great loss for me."

Taliban officials have said women seeking transport further than 72 kilometers must be accompanied by close male relatives under a new move restricting their freedoms in Afghanistan, RFE/RL reports.

In addition, the Taliban's Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice instructed all vehicle drivers to refrain from playing music in their vehicles and not to pick up female passengers without a hijab.

The authenticity of the advisory was confirmed by the ministry's spokesman on December 26.

According to an unnamed Kabul taxi driver, Taliban men have been telling taxi drivers for some time that women shouldn't be taken without a hijab or with music in their cars.

According to the report, exiled Afghan legal expert Haroun Rahimi criticized the Taliban's directive as being a direct attempt to control Afghan women's bodies and mobility.