Afghanistan
Taliban order closure of beauty salons for women
Will soon be a thing of the past in Afghanistan: beauty salons. The Taliban ordered the closure.
© Wakil KOHSAR / AFP
The Taliban have ordered the closure of women’s beauty salons across the country. For women in Afghanistan, the salons are one of the few remaining sources of income. Now they have to close within a month.
Beauty salons run by women have sprung up on many corners during the 20-year presence of US forces in Kabul and other Afghan cities. They not only offered the women the opportunity to earn money, but also a protected space to meet and exchange ideas. For many Afghan households, the saloons were the only source of income.
Taliban promised to respect women’s rights
“There was no fighting and no noise here,” said a salon worker who asked to be called Neelab. “We feel comfortable in this place.” The beauty salon owner said she hired 25 women who were the sole breadwinners for their families. “They are all devastated (…) what are they going to do,” she said.
“Our men have no work,” a beautician told the Tolo News channel. “I don’t know what we’re going to do if they close this place.”
When the Taliban took power in August 2021 after the hasty withdrawal of international troops, they promised to respect women’s rights. In the meantime, however, women have been pushed out of most professions and are no longer allowed to attend universities and secondary schools. They are also forced to veil themselves in public.
Many women in Afghanistan are not allowed to work
Most employees of the United Nations and non-governmental organizations are also no longer allowed to do their jobs. Thousands of women who worked for the government have been laid off or are being paid to stay at home.
Withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan
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According to a report by the UN Human Rights Council, the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan is among the worst in the world. According to the report, the “severe, systematic and institutionalized discrimination against women and girls” is at the heart of the Taliban’s ideology and rule.
“Women and girls are discriminated against in every respect”
Deputy UN Human Rights Commissioner Nada Al-Nashif said: “In the past 22 months, every area of life of women and girls has been restricted. They are discriminated against in every respect.”
Not all Taliban announcements are implemented with equal rigor in practice. In Kabul in particular, many women go through the streets with their faces uncovered, contrary to instructions. A number of private schools for older students also remained open after the official closure of the secondary schools for girls.