The Taliban is once again making life difficult for women in Afghanistan by shutting down covert beauty shops, according to The Guardian. In August 2023, all beauty salons were officially shuttered, but many have stayed open in secret, allowing women a rare chance to socialize and generate money.
Community leaders and elders must now uncover these secret businesses and alert the “vice and virtue” police about them. If women who own salons don’t close them down in a month, they will be arrested. This is a major blow to an industry that hired more than 50,000 women before the first ban.
Frestha, a 38-year-old beautician, told The Guardian that she remained working because she was the only one in her family who could support them. “I kept working because it makes me feel so good to make a woman beautiful again,” she said. But now she believes the risk is too great to continue.
The Taliban has slowly forced women out of public life since they took power in 2021. They have done this by making it tougher for women to have an education, a job, and access to public venues. Human rights groups have labeled the rule a “de facto system of gender apartheid,” arguing that women can’t take part in most public life. The Taliban thought beauty salons were against their version of Islamic law, so they shut them down. This is just one of the numerous rules that have made Afghan women feel alone and like no one cares.