Taliban's bizarre explanation for women's beauty salon ban puts focus on grooms

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Taliban has stated that women's beauty salons in Afghanistan were prohibited due to offering services that are forbidden according to Islamic teachings. They claim that such salons have caused economic difficulties for families of grooms during wedding celebrations. This explanation follows the Taliban's announcement that all salons in the country must cease operations and close within one month.

Human rights groups have expressed concerns regarding the impact of this ruling on female entrepreneurs. Sadiq Akif Mahjer, the spokesperson for the Taliban's Virtue and Vice Ministry, explained in a video clip the specific services offered by salons that were considered to contradict Islamic teachings. These services included eyebrow shaping, using other individuals' hair to enhance a woman's natural hair, and applying makeup.

According to Mahjer, these practices interfere with the necessary ablutions required before offering prayers in accordance with Islam. Salons also cause economic stress on grooms' families, who are required to pay for the pre-wedding salon visit by the bride and her close female relatives as per custom, he said. Amena Sharifi, who owns a Kabul salon, said, “The beauty salon was our only income, and now I don’t know what to do? How we should pay for our expenses?" Sharing their ordeal, Raihan Mubariz, a makeup artist told TOLO News, "The men are jobless.

When men cannot take care of their families, the women are forced to work in a beauty salon to find a loaf of bread. If they are banned there, what can we do?" Another makeup artist said, “We will not get out of the home if men (of the family) have jobs. What can we do? We should starve to death, what should we do? You want us to die." The ban comes days