ASTANA -- Authorities are urging Kazakhstanis to wear clothing suitable to their "traditions and the times", Religious Affairs and Civil Society Minister Nurlan Yermekbayev said at a news conference in Astana Tuesday (May 2), according to the prime minister's press office.
During a meeting with leaders of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan, President Nursultan Nazarbayev expressed concern about men who grow beards and wear cut-off shorts and women who dress all in black as going against the country's traditions, according to Yermekbayev.
Dressing as one wishes is a right in Kazakhstan, said Yermekbayev, adding, "We still have to conduct outreach work to those citizens who follow exhortations that are alien to our people."