Kabul, Afghanistan

Across Afghanistan, thousands of beauty parlours closed down on Tuesday (July 25). One of the last few revenue streams available to Afghan women and a cherished space for socialising, beauty parlours in the South Asian nation are now permanently closed following an order by Afghanistan rulers Taliban. 

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This ban is the latest in a series of Taliban orders curtailing the already limited freedoms women had in Afghanistan, following the 2021 chaotic withdrawal of United States troops.

Women, employment and an economy in crisis 

On Tuesday, as per AFP, many salons in Kabul had already closed, while others attempted to stay open till the last possible minute. 

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Talking to the new agency, one proprietor said that she had been forced to sign a declaration saying that she was shutting down her salon willingly, and would hand in her licence to operate.

Also read | Taliban order closure of hair and beauty salons in Afghanistan, further restricting women's rights

"The scene was terrible — they came with military vehicles and guns," she said on the condition of anonymity.

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"What can a woman do in the face of so much insistence and pressure?"

Reuters reports that as per industry estimates, the ban will lead to the closure of some 12,000 beauty businesses and around 60,000 women losing their jobs. 

The UN Secretary General's special representative in Afghanistan, Roza Otunbayeva told Reuters that the ban "will disproportionately impact female entrepreneurs, which is a setback for resilience, poverty reduction, and economic recovery."

As per the International Labor Organization (ILO), the ban will create a "significant" decrease in women's employment. 

Why beauty salons are important to Afghan women

Apart from the above-mentioned financial aspects, beauty salons in deeply patriarchal Afghanistan provided the women with a female-only space where they could meet outside their homes. 

They served as a safe space where women could gather without a male chaperone, socialise and even prepare for celebrations like weddings.

The ban order

Taliban announced the ban on beauty salons last month. In June, the Taliban's Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice announced the forced closures, giving women a grace period to comply with the order.

Also read | Exclusive: Afghan women react to veiled attempts to legitimise Taliban's rule

AFP reports that the ministry claimed that extravagant sums spent on beauty treatments like makeovers cause hardship for poor families. Labelling some treatments 'un-Islamic', it further said that too much make-up prevents women from proper ablutions for prayer.

(With inputs from agencies)

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