In the latest clampdown on women’s freedom and human rights in Afghanistan, the Taliban is ordering all hair and beauty salons to shut down.
These women-only workspaces have provided a safe haven for many Afghani women who have already suffered a great loss of freedom, being banned from classrooms, universities, gyms, parks and funfairs without a male chaperone.
Hair and beauty salons have been one of the only safe spaces to gather without men present, and one of the very few remaining means of employment for Afghani women. Another human right that will soon be stripped away from them.
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The Taliban announced the upcoming ban in a letter addressed to the public on June 24, 2023, stating that all hair and beauty salons must be shut down by the end of the month. The ministry’s letter conveys the order from supreme leader Haibatullah Akhunzada. No reasons were provided for the ban in the letter.
This comes days after Akhunzada asserted that his government had “taken the necessary steps” for the “betterment” of women’s lives in Afghanistan, according to an article published by Al Jazeera.
Mohammad Sadeq Akif Muhajir, spokesman for the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, would not reveal reasons for the order.
“Once they are closed then we will share the reason with the media,” he told the AFP news agency.
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The UN has aptly called this systematic oppression “gender apartheid”. Richard Bennett, Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan says:
“Grave, systematic and institutionalised discrimination against women and girls is at the heart of Taliban ideology and rule, which gives rise to concerns that they may be responsible for gender apartheid. A serious human rights violation…”
Bennett continues:
“We also draw to the council’s attention our deep concern that these serious deprivations of women and girls’ fundamental human rights and the harsh enforcement by the de facto authorities of their restrictive measures may constitute the crime against humanity of gender persecution.”
The UN wants to study the Taliban’s gender apartheid and determine whether it can be called an international crime, it already calls the Taliban’s rule a crime against humanity.
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The Taliban continues to restrict women’s participation in the workforce and assault the dignity of women living in Afghanistan. As it stands, the only two remaining roles filled by women in Afghanistan are doctors and nurses. How long will this carry on for?
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Feature Image: Pexels
