Somali Town Bans Man-Woman Handshakes and Other Perfectly Innocent Things

By Lauri Apple | January 8, 2011 | 10:00pm

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Residents of Jowhar say Islamist insurgents have promised to whip, imprison, or kill them if they violate new edicts banning unrelated women and men from shaking hands, talking, or walking together. Good luck promoting your town now, Johwar Tourist Bureau.

Local townswomen are being beaten for wearing the “wrong” clothes, and they can no longer work in public. The insurgents—the radical Islamist group al-Shabab—have also banned music, and recently cut off a teenager’s leg and hand after he was accused of theft. Just when you think you’ve got it bad …