When Hairy Met Sally

In Pakistan,

The ban on shaving of men's beards has been extended across Bajaur Agency and violators will have to pay a Rs 5,000 fine, Ghulam Khan, president of the barbers association, said on Wednesday. "It has been unanimously decided that there will be a ban on shaving beards all over Bajaur Agency," Ghulam Khan told reporters in Khar, regional headquarters of Bajaur Agency. The ban on shaving men's beards was imposed following distribution of pamphlets from an unidentified militant group on Sunday that the practice was "un-Islamic".

I see two silver linings here.

One is that barbers who violate the edict will only have to pay a fine, instead of being killed outright, as has been the custom in Iraq. Rejoice.

Also, there are loopholes just waiting to be exploited. For instance, the ban on beard-shaving targets men, meaning that women may freely grow facial hair (as long as they keep it hidden behind their mandatory veils, natch — unlike the virtually naked godless floozy in the picture).

If I were a Pakistani barber accused of trimming male whiskers, I would claim to be dyslexic and insist I'm innocent because I never shaved any bears.

Anyway, the news quoted above comes as a relief, as it indicates that Pakistan is a modern, moderate Muslim nation — one we should be proud to call our ally. Right?

Comments

[Tony]

...virtually naked godless floozy...

Thanks, that made me laugh.