February 25, 2004
Source: BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3486776.stm
On February 25, 2004 the BBC News reported, "Turkmenistan President Saparmurat Niyazov has passed a decree forbidding young men in the country to wear long hair or beards. The president said the Education Ministry should be in charge of checking people's hair as the issue was most pressing among the young...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...In this part of the world, rulings on hair are generally connected to Islam in some way, but it seems likely that Mr Niyazov's decree is more broadly directed against individualism of any kind."