In their long white gowns, the inspectors of the Taliban’s Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue look more like food safety inspectors than “moral police”.
But they’re at the forefront of attempts to mould a new, more “Islamic” identity in Afghanistan, in keeping with the group’s hard-line views.
Their role seems broad. During their last visit to a multi-storey shopping centre in Kabul a few months back, shopkeepers remembered the inspectors checking whether products were past their expiry date, as well as instructing them to remove posters featuring women’s bodies.
