Taliban close dozens of home-based salons in Kabul, reports say

The Taliban regime in Afghanistan has intensified its suppression of women’s rights, forcibly shutting down home-based beauty salons across Kabul in recent days. This latest move marks another devastating blow to Afghan women’s ability to earn livelihoods under the hardline Islamist government.

Armed Raids Target Women’s Last Economic Refuge

Multiple beauticians reported terrifying encounters with Taliban morality police who stormed private residences without warning. “They confiscated all our equipment and made our male relatives sign pledges banning us from working,” shared one beautician, her voice trembling with fear. These clandestine home salons had become a critical income source after the Taliban banned formal beauty parlors in July 2023.

Eyewitness accounts reveal disturbing patterns of the morality police inspecting personal mobile devices without cause, male family members being summoned for coercive “pledge” signings and lastly, reports of officials previously extorting bribes before conducting raids

Systematic Erasure of Women’s Economic Freedom

The Ministry for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has escalated its campaign beyond temporary detentions to permanent shutdowns. “First they took our public workplaces, now they’re invading our homes,” lamented a beautician who spoke anonymously. Many women described hiding equipment and living in constant fear of subsequent raids.

This crackdown effectively eliminates one of the last remaining income opportunities for Afghan women since the Taliban barred them from most professions. The regime continues dismantling women’s economic participation despite initially claiming they could work within “Islamic framework.”

International Condemnation Grows

Human rights organizations have documented increasing Taliban abuses against working women. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan recently reported over 50 edicts restricting women’s rights since the Taliban takeover. These salon raids represent the latest violation, further isolating Afghanistan’s female population from economic and social participation.

As daylight fades on women’s freedoms in Afghanistan, the international community faces urgent questions about how to support Afghan women facing systematic oppression. With each passing month, the Taliban demonstrates its commitment to erasing women from public life – first in streets, then schools, and now even behind closed doors.