One of the last places Afghans can earn a living and meet to talk and get out — hair and beauty salons — are to close their doors nationwide by July 25 on the direct orders of Taliban Supreme Leader Mullah in Haibatulá Ajundzadá . The order to strip these companies of their licenses was part of a statement released on Sunday by the Taliban Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, reported Tuesday by Afghan newspaper Hasht-E Subh Daily. In a country where, with a few exceptions, the Taliban have already banned women from working, this move deprives several thousand more Afghans and their families of their livelihoods. There are no figures on how many facilities of this type exist across the country, but the Afghan press and activists consulted by this newspaper put the number at between 1,000 and several thousand.
“Unfortunately, this news is true and the beauty salons have already been closed,” confirms Laila Basim, one of the founders of the Coalition of Afghan Women Protesters, via WhatsApp from Kabul. “There are more than a thousand hair salons across the country and each of these women’s salons employs between five and six people. That means thousands more women will remain unemployed.”
The Taliban’s statement reporting the withdrawal of the licenses offers no reason to shut them down. Mohammad Sadeq Akif Muhajir, spokesman for the Ministry of Vice Prevention, assured Agence France Presse on Tuesday: “As soon as the shops close, we will explain the reason to the media.” During their previous reign between 1996 and 2001, the Taliban also have such facilities closed, where there is strict gender segregation in Afghanistan.
A “gender apartheid”
Since the fundamentalists took power on August 15, 2021, women and girls in Afghanistan have been gradually stripped of the rights they had gained during the 20-year international military presence in the country. To this end, fundamentalists have passed dozens of decrees whose ultimate goal, Basim stresses, is “to segregate Afghans from all sectors of society.”
Afghans from the age of 12 are forbidden from studying and working in administration, the security forces, banks, NGOs and the United Nations. Women are also not permitted to obtain a passport or to travel unaccompanied by a close male relative. They are also forbidden from free time. In addition to the general ban on listening to music, Afghans are no longer allowed to enter parks, gardens or fitness studios. Also, do not go to public toilets. According to Unicef, five in 10 Afghans do not have access to basic sanitation. For many women and girls, these baths were the only way to wash themselves with hot water and to ensure adequate menstrual hygiene.
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On June 20, a United Nations team of experts released a report on the persecution of Afghan women, defining what women and girls are experiencing in that country as “gender apartheid,” which can be viewed as “crimes against humanity.” . The text highlights one aspect: the attempts at total “dominance” of women, “serious, systematic and institutionalized” discrimination, and the “control environment” that prevents women and girls from leaving their homes.
“The Taliban are enemies of women and such [el cierre de estos negocios] It is not and will not be the final measure against them. By repressing women, the Taliban want to use Afghans to blackmail the international community into recognizing them [como Gobierno legítimo de Afganistán]’ Laila Basim claims, pointing to the fact that the Taliban are trying to persuade the international community to legitimize them in return for moderating their policies towards women.
Mental health
Ariana also answers WhatsApp from Kabul with her voice turned off. The 19-year-old, who hides her identity under a false name, studied at the American University in Kabul until the fundamentalists returned to power. Unable to continue her education, she spends her time sharing her good knowledge of English with other Afghan teenagers through a platform where she teaches them this language. Ariana believes the closure of the hair salons is to “prevent women from leaving the house”, but agrees with Basim that the most serious consequence of this measure will be the loss of several thousand jobs for women.
“My neighbor’s father has no job and the family was able to survive thanks to the work of the mother, who is a dressmaker, as the daughters worked in beauty salons. But it’s not just about my neighbor. These are thousands of women working in these companies, especially after the government collapsed [del presidente Ashraf Ghani, derrocado por los talibanes]“Because many women were unemployed and had no alternative but to go to hairdressers and beauty salons to work outside the home,” regrets this young woman, who admits that she has to “fight with herself” every day to avoid becoming discouraged .
Of the 2,000 Afghans polled by the UN panel of experts for its report on gender apartheid in Afghanistan, half said they knew at least one woman or girl who had suffered from anxiety or depression since fundamentalists returned to power. “Deteriorating mental health is a serious concern for all the women we spoke to,” the experts said.
“I’m almost always at home, maybe I go out once a week and sometimes not even that: I have no reason to go out. I work a lot on the internet and a lot of friends my age do the same. This is very, very difficult. Sometimes I feel like not having physical activity, not meeting people, and not being able to meet anyone makes me feel like I’m going insane,” Ariana summarizes.
Parasto Hakim, an activist for girls’ education rights in Afghanistan, who for security reasons speaks from a location she does not reveal, alluding to the Taliban, asks: “What can you expect from a terrorist group?” Is it because a terrorist likes beauty? They just want to destroy.
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