Remember that story that France was considering banning beards in public schools? They'll be glad to know they're in good company: Turkmenistan also wants to ban the beard:
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. Mr Niyazov's rule in the central Asian state has always been authoritarian. But his latest decree takes to a new level the degree of state intervention in people's private lives. 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.Apparently, Turkmenistan is following the lead of nearby Uzbekistan, which has been trying to ban Islamic religious practice for quite some time. Congratulations, France. The home of liberty and equality wants to have the same policies as repressive authoritarian regimes.