KABUL: The Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have issued a directive ordering all beauty parlours in the country to shut down within a month, as confirmed by the vice ministry on Tuesday. This move represents yet another measure by the Taliban to further restrict women’s participation in public life.
Since assuming power in August 2021, the Taliban government has implemented a series of prohibitions, including barring girls and women from attending high schools and universities, prohibiting their access to parks, funfairs, and gyms, and enforcing a mandatory covering of women in public spaces. Women have also faced severe employment restrictions, with many being expelled from government positions or offered monetary incentives to remain at home. Working for the United Nations or NGOs has become nearly impossible for women.
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Mohammad Sadeq Akif Muhajir, the spokesperson for the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, declined to provide the reason behind the new order. He stated that the rationale would be shared with the media once the parlours were closed. The businesses have been granted a grace period to settle their affairs and utilize their existing stock without incurring losses.
Taliban Supreme Leader Directed Closure of Beauty Parlours
According to a copy of the order seen by AFP, it was issued “based on verbal instruction from the supreme leader.” Over the past two decades, beauty parlours had become popular establishments in Kabul and other Afghan cities, serving as safe spaces for women to gather, socialize, and also providing employment opportunities for women.
In a recent report to the UN’s Human Rights Council, Richard Bennett, the special rapporteur for Afghanistan, described the situation for women and girls in Afghanistan as one of the worst in the world. He highlighted the “grave, systematic, and institutionalized discrimination” against women under Taliban rule, raising concerns about the potential implementation of gender apartheid.
Nada Al-Nashif, the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, added that women’s and girls’ lives had been severely restricted over the past 22 months, noting pervasive discrimination in all aspects.
In a statement marking the Eid al-Adha holiday, Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, who rarely appears in public and governs from Kandahar, claimed that Afghan women were being liberated from “traditional oppressions” through the adoption of Islamic governance. He stated that their status as “free and dignified human beings” was being restored, and efforts were being made to provide them with a “comfortable and prosperous life” in accordance with Islamic Sharia.
