Beauty salon ban in Afghanistan a blow to women’s rights and their livelihoods

In Afghanistan, the Taliban administration's order to shutter women's beauty salons comes into effect today. This ban is the latest in a series of restrictions imposed by the Taliban on women since taking control of the country two years ago during the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops.

More than 60,000 women are likely to lose their jobs, and 12,000 beauty businesses are likely to shutter, according to industry estimates, putting further strain on families and an economy already in crisis.

Setbacks

Roza Otunbayeva, the UN secretary general's special representative in Afghanistan, told Reuters the ban on beauty salons "will disproportionately impact female entrepreneurs, which is a setback for resilience, poverty reduction and economic recovery." Here, Afghan women peek through the door of a vacated beauty parlour in Kabul on Tuesday.

(Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty Images)

A three-wheeler vehicle loaded with belongings from a beauty parlour is parked in front of the parlour in Kabul.

(Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty Images)

Female participation in the formal workforce was around 23 per cent during the rule of Afghanistan's foreign-backed government, the International Labour Organization said. Here, an Afghan beautician removes a poster in a beauty salon in Kabul on Monday.

(Ali Khara/Reuters)

In addition to offering the usual services, beauty salons, such as this one in Kabul, provide many Afghan women with a safe, female-only space where they can meet outside their homes and without a male chaperone.

(Ali Khara/Reuters)

Makeup equipment is seen in the hands of an Afghan beautician at a beauty salon in Kabul.

(Ali Khara/Reuters)

The ban on salons, announced on July 4 by the morality ministry, said it was based on an order from the supreme spiritual leader.

(Ali Khara/Reuters)

Similar orders have led to the closure of high schools and universities to women and stopped many Afghan female aid staff from work — moves foreign officials say are hampering any steps toward the formal recognition of the Taliban administration.

(Ali Khara/Reuters)

Members of the Taliban administration say they respect women's rights in line with their interpretation of Islamic law and Afghan culture. They support the development of female-owned businesses and have allowed spaces for women at trade fairs.

"Day by day, the Taliban are trying to eliminate women from society. We are also human beings," said one makeup artist, not pictured below.

(Ali Khara/Reuters)