Afghanistan Times
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KABUL — The Taliban has launched a sweeping campaign to shut down women’s beauty salons across Afghanistan, forcing the closure of thousands of businesses and stripping an estimated 60,000 women of their jobs, according to the Kabul Chamber of Commerce.
In Kabul, eyewitnesses told local media that Taliban officials are inspecting buildings and raiding salons, confiscating or destroying equipment on the spot. Similar closures have been reported nationwide since the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice issued a formal decree earlier this summer ordering all salons to close within a month. Officials claim services such as makeup, eyebrow shaping, and the use of wigs violate Islamic principles, and argue they impose “unnecessary financial pressure” on families during wedding preparations.
The move has sparked rare public protests by female beauticians in Kabul, where demonstrators carried banners reading “Don’t take away our bread and water.” Security forces quickly dispersed the gatherings with water cannons, tasers, and warning gunfire. At least several women were detained during the unrest, rights groups say.
Human rights organizations and UN agencies have condemned the closures. UNAMA warned that the policy contradicts Taliban promises to support women entrepreneurs and will further damage Afghanistan’s already fragile economy. Human Rights Watch described the ban as “an assault on one of the few remaining safe public spaces for women.”
Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban has systematically rolled back women’s rights, banning secondary and higher education for girls, restricting female employment in NGOs and government, and imposing strict dress codes and travel restrictions without a male guardian. The United Nations has called these measures a form of “gender apartheid.”
With the loss of their livelihoods, some beauticians have turned to underground, home-based salons — operating in secrecy to avoid arrest — as their only means of survival. Rights advocates warn that these women face severe risks, including imprisonment, fines, and harassment.
International pressure is mounting. Several Western governments have urged the Taliban to reverse the ban, linking the policy to broader concerns over human rights and Afghanistan’s isolation from the global community. However, Taliban leaders have shown no sign of compromise
