Several female beauticians in Kabul say Taliban morality police have shut down dozens of home-based salons in recent days, part of a growing crackdown on women’s work and personal freedoms.
The women told Amu TV that Taliban agents raided their homes, confiscated their salon equipment, and forced family members to sign written pledges barring them from continuing their work.
Some of the women also reported that the agents inspected their mobile phones during the raids.
The home salons had been operating covertly after the Taliban ordered the closure of all formal beauty salons last year. Now, these informal businesses are also being targeted.
“Some of our colleagues warned us that Taliban officers were going door to door,” one beautician said. “They took our tools and told us we would be arrested and taken to court if we resumed working. I’ve moved my equipment elsewhere, but I’m still afraid.”
Beauticians said the agents demanded written guarantees from their families and issued threats of prosecution. Several women also said their phones were searched without explanation.
Another beautician described the encounter: “They came to my home and wouldn’t even let me open the room I used as a salon. They made me take down my sign and said my male relatives must report to the district office.”
Taliban officials from the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice have previously detained women beauticians, releasing them hours later. The latest wave of closures has drawn criticism from rights activists.
“Around the world, people have the right to study, work and support their families. We are no different,” one human rights activist said. “But the Taliban once again are punishing women who were just trying to survive.”
Some beauticians in Kabul had previously said Taliban officials demanded bribes in exchange for allowing them to operate quietly, only to be arrested later by the morality police. Others have reported threatening or inappropriate behavior from Taliban agents.
The Taliban ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
