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Turkmenistan: land of the enlightened (and clean-shaven)
Turkmenistan What about women? The president said the Education Ministry should be in charge of checking peopleâs hair as the issue was most pressing among the young. Mr Niyazovâs rule in the central Asian state has always been authoritarian. But his latest decree takes to a new level the degree of state intervention in peopleâs private lives. ... President Niyazov appeared on television saying that men can no longer grow their hair and that beards are not allowed, at least among the young. He gave no reason - but that is not unusual in Turkmenistan. or Iran or Saudi Arabia or ... oh, nevermind. In this part of the world, rulings on hair are generally connected to Islam in some way, but it seems likely that Mr Niyazovâs decree is more broadly directed against individualism of any kind. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile. The goatee beard is currently in vogue in the capital, Ashgabat, and these will probably be the first to be shaved off. Well, at least we wonât have to look for Taliban ex-pats there. Theyâd sooner look at a womanâs ankle than shave their beards. It is forbidden now to listen to car radios or to smoke in the street; opera and ballet performances have been banned on the grounds that they are unnecessary. On Sunday he is to fire 15,000 nurses and other health workers and replace them with army conscripts. Posted by: Puddle Pirate 2004-03-01 |
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