Beauty & resistance : the hidden network under Taliban rule

Leading up to August 15, 2021, like many other Afghans, I anxiously followed the news as the Taliban’s return to power seemed inevitable. When Kabul was recaptured by the Taliban following the U.S.’s disastrous and reckless withdrawal from the country, the fear of another dark era – reminiscent of 1996-2001 – became a harsh reality. The Taliban swiftly imposed repressive policies, especially targeting women. Over the past few years, Afghan women have been subjected to extreme gender persecution, systematically erased from public life through numerous bans – on education and employment, along with severe restrictions on public life, including access to spaces such as parks, gyms, and historic landmarks, and even limitations on services like receiving medical care from male professionals. In less than five years, Afghan women’s autonomy has been virtually eliminated. Among these measures was the ban on women managing or entering beauty salons. Beauty and adornment have long been cherished practices among Afghan women, typically reserved for special occasions like weddings, engagements, and baby showers. It is not common, for instance, for women to attend such events every month, with the beauty salon industry often serving as a social and cultural backbone to these gatherings. Despite – or perhaps, because of – its deep significance to Afghan women, on July 25, 2023, the official ban shuttered over 12,000 beauty salons, leaving more than 60,000 women unemployed. Even so, beauty salons have not disappeared. Brave beauticians continue to operate in secret, forming underground networks to preserve their businesses and communities despite the risks involved. As one beautician proclaimed, “we are the beauty resisters.”