The decision by the interim Afghan Taliban Government in Kabul to close beauty parlours across the country this month has devastated thousands of salon owners, their employees and those who may not work at beauty parlours but depend on them for income.
“The women rendered unemployed due to the closure of beauty parlours have no future plan. They are traumatised,” Athena Hashemi, owner of the popular Henna Beauty Salon in Kabul, told The Friday Times.
Beauty salons, after approaching the one-month deadline set by the Afghan Taliban, were forced shut in Afghanistan this week. There is no word from the government about making any alternate arrangement for employees and owners of these establishments as yet.
The interim Afghan Taliban government announced that since the service ran contrary to their understanding of Islam and caused hardships for groom’s families during weddings, all women-only beauty spaces should close down.
“I have been forced to close my hair salons in Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif," Hashemi said.
Nearly 70 women were employed in her Henna Beauty Salon. “Most of the workers were sole breadwinner of their families,” she said.
But it is not just the beauty parlours or those who work in them. Hashemi said that she has also had to close her handmade jewellery shop due to the ban imposed by the Afghan Taliban. Handmade jewellery supports several other women who don't work at the parlours.
The abrupt order issued by the Taliban administration has not allowed enough time for beauty professionals to seek new opportunities. “I am worried about them (beauty parlour workers). All the other owners and workers of beauty salons are in a state of panic. We are clueless about how to support our households.”
Another beauty salon lies empty after the Afghan Taliban imposed a ban on beauty salons.
According to the Afghanistan Women Chamber of Commerce and Investment (AWCCI), there were about 12,000 licensed and 8,000 licensed beauty parlours operating across Afghanistan that provided employment opportunities to about 63,000 women. The salon owners had invested thousands of dollars to grow their businesses and created a safe space for women to meet.
Fariba Naseery, the acting chairperson AWCCI, said: “The Chamber is working on a plan to provide business opportunities to them.”
Nearly 70 women were employed in her Henna Beauty Salon. “Most of the workers were sole breadwinner of their families,” she said.
Dozens of saloon workers gathered in Kabul last week to protest the interim government’s recent decision to squeeze women out of public space. The protesting women pleaded that they and their families depend on the beauty business for survival. Gun-toting enforcers of the Afghan Taliban fired in the air to disperse them.
The salon owners and workers faced a similar situation in the past. They were prohibited from operating for five years, between 1996 and 2001, during Taliban’s last rule in Afghanistan.
Since the Taliban seized power two years ago, Afghan women have been barred from attending schools and universities, they cannot be seen in parks, funfairs and gyms, and have been strictly ordered to cover up in public.
