The Taliban morality police detained about 20 students at Herat University on Wednesday, according to sources at the university, in what appears to be an enforcement of recently imposed appearance rules.
The Taliban muhtasibs, or the morality police, under the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, entered the campus and took the students into custody, the sources said.
According to those accounts, the students were detained for not wearing caps and for having beards deemed too short, requirements that form part of the Taliban’s regulations on dress and grooming for male students.
Taliban have not publicly commented on the incident.
The detentions come amid broader efforts by the Taliban to enforce new codes of conduct at universities across the country. Under those rules, male students are required to wear traditional caps and maintain beards in line with the Taliban’s interpretation of Islamic standards.
Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have steadily expanded restrictions on personal appearance and behavior in public institutions, including universities, where students and faculty face increasing oversight.
