Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban, Muslim fundamentalists, have excluded women from most high schools, universities and public administration.
ADVERTISING
They also cannot work for international organizations, visit parks, gardens, stadiums and public bathrooms or travel without the presence of a male family member. Furthermore, they must be completely covered when leaving the house.
The decision to close beauty salons, announced by decree at the end of June, brings about the end of thousands of commercial establishments run by women. These spaces were often the only resource for their families and constituted one of the last spaces of freedom and socialization for Afghan women.
“We used to come here and spend time talking about our future. Now even that right has been taken away from us,” said Bahara, a customer at a beauty salon in Kabul.
ADVERTISING
“Women do not have the right to enter leisure facilities. What can we do? Where can we have fun? Where can we meet?", questionor her.
According to the Afghan Women's Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the ban on beauty salons will cause around 60 women, who worked in 12 establishments, to lose their only source of income.
This Tuesday, many salons had already closed their doors in Kabul, while others waited until the last minute to do so.
ADVERTISING
One owner reported that she was forced to sign a letter recording the establishment's closure of her own free will, renouncing her license to manage it.
“It was a horrible scene: they arrived with military vehicles and rifles. What can a woman do in the face of so much insistence and pressure?”, she said anonymously.
Last week, Afghan security forces fired into the air and threw water jets at dozens of Afghan women protesting in Kabul against the decree.
ADVERTISING
When confirming the measure days after the promulgation of the decree, the Ministry of Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue had informed that the salons would have one month (until this Tuesday) to close their doors.
The agency justified this closure by claiming that people spend extravagant amounts on weddings, which it considers to be a very heavy burden on poor families. It also argued that some of the services offered were not in accordance with Islamic law, such as the use of makeup, which prevented women from properly performing their ablutions before prayer, the ministry said. False eyelashes and braids were also banned.
A written copy of the decree, seen by AFP, indicates that the decision was based on a “verbal instruction from the paramount chief” of Afghanistan, Hibatullah Akhundzada.
ADVERTISING
Beauty salons spread throughout Kabul and major Afghan cities during the 20 years of occupation by US and NATO forces.
Read more:
* The text of this article was partially generated by artificial intelligence tools, state-of-the-art language models that assist in the preparation, review, translation and summarization of texts. Text entries were created by the Curto News and responses from AI tools were used to improve the final content.
It is important to highlight that AI tools are just tools, and the final responsibility for the published content lies with the Curto News. By using these tools responsibly and ethically, our objective is to expand communication possibilities and democratize access to quality information. 🤖
