Dozens of women protest in Kabul over the Taliban order to close beauty salons

July 19 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Dozens of women, most of them hairdressers and makeup artists, took to the streets of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, this Wednesday to protest against the Taliban order to close the country’s beauty salons.

“What is our crime that they deprive us of school, university and everything? What is our fault?” asked Marwa, one of the people whose testimonies were collected by the Afghan television channel Tolo News. .

“I have spent around 400,000 afghanis (more than 4,100 euros) in my beauty salon. I am the breadwinner of my family and I have the responsibility of bringing food for twelve people in my family,” Sadaf claimed.

The Taliban’s decision, the protesters warn, will cause thousands of women to lose their jobs. Human Rights groups have denounced that this measure is part of the restrictions against women imposed by fundamentalists since they took control in August 2021.

The Taliban have given the owners of these venues until July 2 to close them. The excuse they have used is that the use of wigs and other aesthetic licenses, such as eyebrow waxing, contradict Islamic values.

This decision further restricts safe and accessible spaces for Afghan women, who are already prohibited from going to educational centers, gyms, and even some recreational centers. Recently, they have been banned from working for the offices of the United Nations and non-governmental organizations.