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Beard and Haircut Laws by Country

Beard and Haircut Laws by Country: compare 14 countries on 1 metric.

Law14 countries · 1 metricUpdated Feb 25, 2025Original page
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14 countries
AfghanistanIn September 2021, the Taliban issued a ban in Afghanistan's Helmand province, prohibiting barbershops from shaving or trimming beards. They justified this decision as being in accordance with Sharia law.
AlbaniaDuring the Enver Hoxha regime, men were forbidden to have beards or hair over 4 centimeters (1.6 inches) long. Men with prohibited hairstyles cannot enter the country.
ChinaZhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Han Chinese Ming Dynasty, passed the Law on Compulsory Hairstyles on September 24, 1392, requiring all men to adopt the queue, or cue hairstyle, in which the front portion of the scalp was shaved but the hair from roughly the ears back w…
CzechiaFollowing the Prague Spring of 1968, Western 1960s counterculture inspired the Mánička subculture amongst Czechoslovak youth. The long hairstyles associated with this movement were discouraged and suppressed by the authorities, who saw long hair as a subversive Western cultura…
IndiaIn December 2003, the Supreme Court of India ruled that uniformed Muslims are allowed to grow beards. Non-Muslims and non-Sikhs serving in the Indian Army or Indian Air Force are not allowed to grow beards.
IranThe Iranian government has banned men's "Western hairstyles," including ponytails, mullets, and spikes, as part of a stated attempt to protect the country's culture and combat cultural imperialism.
JapanDuring Japan's Edo period (1603-1867), the Tokugawa shogunate ordered Japanese men to shave the putty on the front of their heads (chonmage hairstyle) and shave their beards, beards, and armpits., In 1871, the 4th year of the Meiji era, Emperor Meiji issued an edict to abolis…
North KoreaDisputed. Radio Free Asia reported in 2014 that the North Korean government had a recommended list of 18 hair styles for women and 10 hair styles for men, and that some colleges had recommended male students model their hair after Kim Jong-un. However, Dr. Katharine H.S. Moon,…
RussiaPeter the Great imposed a beard tax in 1698 to encourage Russian men to shave, as part of the modernization and westernization of Imperial Russia. Men who kept their beards on and refused to pay taxes were forcibly shaved.
SingaporeIn the past, Singapore had banned long hair for men nationwide in an effort to slow the growth of the hippie subculture. However, the law has changed and now men are allowed to wear any hairstyle.
South KoreaIn 1973, South Korea under Park Chung-hee introduced a misdemeanor law limiting the length of men's hair and mandating a minimum skirt length for women. There was no specific definition of acceptable hair length, and violators were often taken to police stations and had their …
TajikistanMost men in Tajikistan are encouraged by the government to grow beards in an effort to combat radicalism. Only clean-shaven men can apply for passports. Beards are often forcibly shaved by police officers.
ThailandAs of 2017, Thai male police and military personnel are required to wear a hairstyle known as the "904 cut." This style involves shaving the sides and back of the head, leaving only a little hair on the crown. For female police officers and female soldiers, if the hair is long…
VietnamWhen the Han Chinese ruled over the Vietnamese in the Fourth Rule of China, the Vietnamese were ordered by Ming officials to stop cutting their hair and change into Han Chinese clothes. In 1474, Vietnam issued an edict banning Vietnamese from adopting foreign languages, hairst…

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Where does this beard and haircut laws by country data come from?
Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: The Taliban Order Barbers Not To Shave Beards In Afghan Province Of Helmand - NPR; Beard and haircut laws by country - Wiki.

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