A ministry spokesman in a subsequent statement explained that parlors caused economic hardship for grooms' families when brides are taken to these facilities during wedding ceremonies. He asserted that too much make-up would also prevent women from proper ablutions for prayer, while implanting hair and plucking eyebrows are against Sharia, or Islamic law.
The edict outraged owners and beauticians, leading to a couple of rare protest rallies, urging authorities not to deprive them of their only source of earning. Last week, Taliban security forces fired shots into the air and used fire hoses in Kabul to forcefully disperse dozens of women protesting the ban.
The United Nations and human rights groups have opposed the restriction on Afghan beauty parlors. The U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan in a recent statement called on the Taliban to reverse the edict, warning it would adversely affect the national economy and undermine support for women's entrepreneurship.
"The Taliban ban on beauty parlors removes another vital space for women's work at a time when they're struggling to feed their families, eliminates one of the few refuges for women outside the home & further transforms the country into a cruel & extreme outlier in the world," Rina Amiri, the U.S. special envoy for Afghan women, girls and rights, said on Twitter after the Taliban announced they would ban beauty salons.
The restrictions on Afghan women's rights to public life have drawn strong international criticism, with the U.N. denouncing the Taliban administration as "gender-apartheid regime."
No country has recognized the Taliban government, citing their treatment of women.
The fundamentalist de facto leaders justify their policies, saying they are aligned with Afghan culture and Sharia, claims scholars in the rest of Islamic countries dispute and reject.
(VOA/SR)
