While visiting the province of Badakhshan, Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, acting minister of the Ministry of Virtue and Vice, called on officials to not recruit underage youth to serve in the Islamic Emirate forces but instead should send them to madrassas (religious schools) for study.

“Those who are underage should not be among the Mujahiden, and they should be removed and should be sent to madrassas to study,” he said.

Hanafi also criticized the untidy look of some Islamic Emirate forces.

Speaking at a gathering in Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan province, Mr. Hanafi emphasized once again that the international community is attempting to degrade Afghan women in the name of human rights.

“Our mothers and sisters want dignity and they want chastity and hijab. The foreigners are trying to remove their veils. The Ministry of Virtue and Vice, the Islamic Emirate and the nation want their dignity,” he said.

The country's acting minister of the Ministry of Virtue and Vice spent the last week visiting several provinces and speaking at events regarding the hijab and education.