In Afghanistan, beauty salons have been a safe haven for women, but unfortunately, they are now facing closure. The Taliban has recently issued a decree banning salons across the country, leaving thousands of women unemployed.
One salon employee, who wishes to remain anonymous for safety reasons, expressed the devastating impact of this decision, stating, “We can’t support ourselves without this beauty salon.” She works in a salon in Kabul alongside 30 other colleagues who will soon find themselves without a job. “They want women to disappear from society,” she added.
This move from the Taliban is part of their larger effort to erase Afghan women and girls from public life. Murwarid Ziayee, senior director of the NGO Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan, warns that this action will put thousands of women and their families at risk of starvation. “Most of them are the sole breadwinners for their families,” Ziayee emphasized.
The Taliban’s restrictions on women and girls have already banned them from schools, universities, employment opportunities, as well as public spaces such as parks, gyms, and stadiums. “It seems the Taliban starts their day in the morning thinking of what else is left for women that they can ban and restrict,” Ziayee commented.
Sadiq Akif Mahjer, the Taliban spokesperson for the Ministry of Vice and Virtue, claimed that the salons provide services that are forbidden by Islam. He also argued that they are too costly for grooms and their families, who traditionally bear the expenses of the bride and her female relatives visiting the salon before the wedding.
Aid organizations are deeply concerned about the ban, as it deprives women of their livelihood and dignity. However, they fear that there will be little to no consequences for the Taliban’s actions.
“We need support from powerful countries that have influence,” emphasized Ziayee. In a country where the majority of Afghans live below the poverty line, women entrepreneurs believe that this ban will have detrimental effects on everyone. “We’re worried about how to survive,” expressed a salon owner in Kabul, who preferred to remain anonymous. She has been operating her salon for five years, employing five women. “Everyone is shocked, everyone is scared. We’re losing everything,” she shared with Global News.
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