.gif)
Teachers aged under 50 in Tajikistan can no longer grow beards but are allowed to give their lessons in rain boots, according to new government guidelines published Monday.
"Men over 50 are allowed to have beards no more than three centimeters (1.2 inches) long, while younger men should be clean shaven," according to a copy of an education ministry decree widely reported by state-run newspapers.
"As for footwear, it can be anything that fully covers the foot, including galoshes," it added.
Tajikistan, an impoverished Central Asian state bordering war-wracked Afghanistan, says the rules are part of educational reforms and that they meet "the mentality and customs of the people."
Long beards are often greeted with suspicion by the government, which fought a bloody civil war against Islamist forces in the 1990s that left tens of thousands dead and the economy in ruins.
Galoshes, a waterproof overshoe made of rubber are popular among farmers in the rural countryside and viewed as a necessary protection from the rain that frequently pelts the mountainous state.
