Taliban closes women’s beauty parlours in Afghanistan

The Taliban administration has given businesses one month from July 2 to close shop, allegedly because they offer services forbidden by Islam and cause economic hardship for grooms’ families during wedding festivities.

According to Afghanistan’s chamber of commerce, the move will lead to the loss of 60,000 jobs – hence the demonstrations.

‘It seems like the Taliban just want to wipe women out,’ beautician Aqeela Azimi told The Times. ‘There is nothing left for us. Even lipstick is a threat.’

The Taliban ban on beauty parlors removes another vital space for women’s work at a time when they’re struggling to feed their families, eliminates one of the few refuges for women outside the home & further transforms the country into a cruel & extreme outlier in the world.

— U.S. Special Envoy Rina Amiri (@SE_AfghanWGH) July 5, 2023

With Afghanistan in the grip of what the UN says is the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis — 28 million people needing assistance — there are few options.

Beauty salons are not only the last remaining means of income for women in Afghanistan but also the only place they could gather after the Taliban closed one door after another on them.

The measures have incited a fierce uproar worldwide, increasing the country’s isolation at a time when its economy has collapsed.

‘The Taliban ban on beauty parlours removes another vital space for women’s work at a time when they’re struggling to feed their families, eliminates one of the few refuges for women outside the home and further transforms the country into a cruel and extreme outlier in the world,’ tweeted Rina Amiri, the US special envoy for Afghan women and human rights.

Her statement echoes the wider sentiment of the international community, which is at a loss about what to do.