The Taliban government in Afghanistan has ordered all women’s beauty parlors still operating in secret to close within one month, warning that violators will face imprisonment and fines.
The directive, reported by The Guardian on Saturday (30 August), comes as part of the group’s wider restrictions on women’s rights since returning to power in 2021.
In 2023, the Taliban mandated the closure of 12,000 parlors nationwide, forcing some 50,000 women out of work. Despite the ban, many businesses continued to run covertly. Authorities have now instructed community leaders and local elders to identify underground parlors and report them to the Ministry of Virtue and Vice.
One such business owner, 38-year-old Freshta, who has three young children, said she continued operating her parlor in secret because she had no other way to support her family.
“When the Taliban shut down parlors in 2023, I was the only breadwinner of my family. My husband was sick, and I had three children to care for,” she said.
“Besides, I love beautifying women. When a girl looks in the mirror after I style her and smiles, her happiness becomes my happiness.”
But now, she says, the risks have grown too high.
“I don’t think I can continue anymore. I don’t know any other work apart from this. Our situation is very bad. There is no one in this world who will hear our voice or support us.”
Since seizing power in 2021, the Taliban has barred women from most forms of employment, restricted their movement without a male guardian, and banned them from public spaces such as parks. Women are also prohibited from leaving home without a burqa and from speaking loudly in public.
