All women’s beauty salons in Afghanistan were set to close on Tuesday, officials said, as part of a Taliban administration announcement early this month that the women-only spaces were forbidden under Shariah law and caused economic hardship for grooms’ families during wedding celebrations. The closing of the salons — one of the few public places left in Afghanistan where women could congregate outside the home — represents another grim milestone for women’s rights in Afghanistan. Since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, the government has steadily rolled back women’s rights, barring women and girls from most public spaces, from traveling any significant distance without a male relative and from attending school beyond sixth grade. The initial announcement ordering salons to close prompted a rare public protest early this month in Kabul, the capital, where dozens of salon owners and beauticians marched down the street while holding signs opposing the ban. Security forces with the Taliban administration broke up the protest using fire hoses and shot weapons into the air to disperse the crowd.

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Persons: ’, Sadeq Akif Muhajir, beauticians Organizations: Taliban administration’s Ministry, Security Locations: Afghanistan, Kabul