'Let Us Work': Afghan Women's Plea after Taliban's Beauty Salon Ban

In downtown Kabul, in the final few days before their bustling salon closes, a make-up artist applied eyeshadow from a vibrant pink and gold palette on her client in front of a gold-framed mirror and elaborate chandeliers. A looming ban on female beauty salons imposed by the Taliban will put her and thousands of other women out of a job with no other means to provide for their families as it takes effect next week.

“All of us (working here) are the only breadwinners (in our families), I don’t know why they (the Taliban) are doing this. We are always worried about what to do, what our family will eat, and where we can go,” said the make-up artist, who asked not to be named for security concerns.

Beauty salons with covered windows dot streets in upmarket and residential areas of Afghan cities such as Kabul, providing a safe space for women to spend time with other female customers outside the home.

According to industry estimates, more than 60,000 women are likely to lose their jobs and 12,000 businesses are likely to shutter, following the Taliban’s July 4 order requiring salons to close within a month.

Dozens of women, mostly employees of beauty salons staged a protest on Wednesday (July 19) against the ban. The Taliban used water hoses and fired shots into the air to break up the gathering.

“We were 100% concerned about our safety because we were facing a group who do not care whether you are a man or a woman, young or old, they would just hit people. This also happened yesterday, they hit us, chased us, and hosed water on us,” said one of the women who took part in the protest, who didn’t want to be identified for security concerns.

The ban is the latest in a series of moves by the Taliban that restrict freedom of movement for women in the country.

Last year, authorities closed most girls’ high schools, barred women from university and stopped many female Afghan aid staff from working. Some public places including bathhouses and parks have been closed to women.

Foreign governments and U.N. officials have condemned growing restrictions on women since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 after defeating a U.S.-backed government as foreign forces withdrew.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) recorded a 25% drop in female jobs in Afghanistan in the fourth quarter of 2022, its latest published assessment said. That accounted for about 265,000 lost jobs, it said, which was likely to increase with new restrictions on women enforced this year.

With dwindling options in the country, some women feel that leaving may be their only option even if doing so comes with its own set of challenges.

“Day by day they (Taliban) are trying to eliminate women from society somehow," said one make-up artist, teary-eyed as she spoke, also under the condition of anonymity. “We are also human beings, and we also breathe."