5 Hairstyles That Were Once Illegal (Number 2 Came With A Death Sentence)

The Taliban's Ban On The "Titanic Cut"

In early 2001, Afghanistan’s Taliban regime sent letters to barbers in Kabul warning them not to give Western haircuts. Specifically outlawed were the “English cut,” the “Beatles cut,” and the “Titanic cut”—a style inspired by Leonardo DiCaprio’s floppy fringe in the 1997 film. The Titanic was banned in Afghanistan, but copies circulated on video tapes, and the haircut became popular among young men. Barbers who defied the ban were jailed. The Taliban also conducted patrols to identify and punish men with Western-style cuts. It was cultural control enforced with prison cells.