Taliban Issues Big Warning For Afghan Women, Gives One Month To Stop…

The Taliban have issued a fresh order against underground beauty salons in Afghanistan, giving women running them just one month to shut down or face arrest.

Although all beauty salons were officially closed in August 2023, many have continued to operate in secret to support families and provide services for women.

At the time of the ban, around 12,000 salons were shut, leaving more than 50,000 women without jobs.

Now, Taliban authorities have instructed community leaders and elders to identify hidden salons and report them to the “vice and virtue” police. The move signals a wider crackdown on women’s work and social spaces.

Since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, restrictions on women have steadily increased. Women have been banned from most paid jobs, girls are blocked from secondary school and university, and even public spaces such as gyms and parks are off-limits to them. Women are also required to travel with a male guardian, wear full-body coverings, and avoid speaking in public.

Human rights groups have condemned the Taliban’s policies, calling them a form of “gender apartheid” that completely erases women from public life.

With the new crackdown, even the few women who managed to earn a living in secret face losing their last source of income.

For many Afghan women, the ban on beauty salons is not just about work but it is about losing the rare spaces where they could gather, express themselves, and find a sense of community.

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