Men and women have been banned from shaking hands in a district of Somalia controlled by the Islamist group al-Shabab

Under the ban imposed in the southern town of Jowhar, men and women who are not related are also barred from walking together or chatting in public. The al-Shabab administration said those who disobeyed the new rules would be punished according to Sharia law. The penalty would probably be a public flogging. The Islamic militant group has already banned music in areas that it controls, which include most of central and southern Somalia. Somalia has not had a stable government since 1991.