The Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Afghanistan said the Taliban administration has ordered the closure of beauty centers within a month, in the latest restrictions on the entry of Afghan women to public places.
“The deadline for closing beauty salons for women is a month,” said Muhammad Sadiq Akef, the ministry’s official spokesman said today, referring to the ministry’s notification.
Foreign governments and United Nations officials have condemned the increasing restrictions on women since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 after the defeat of a US-backed government and the withdrawal of foreign forces.
Last year, the authorities closed most high schools for girls, barred women from attending university, and prevented many Afghan female aid workers from working.
Many public spaces, including bathrooms, gyms and parks, were closed to women.
Beauty parlors appeared in Kabul and other Afghan cities in the months after the Taliban were driven from power in late 2001, weeks after the September 11 attacks on the United States.
Many of these activities continued to operate after the return of the Islamists to power two years ago, but their banners and windows were covered, which provided some women with the services provided by beauty centers and jobs for their workers. Western governments and international organizations have indicated that the restrictions imposed on women impede any potential progress toward international recognition of the Taliban administration.
The administration says it respects women’s rights in accordance with its interpretation of Islamic law and Afghan customs.
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