Almost two years on since the Taliban takeover, authorities in Afghanistan are banning beauty salons in the latest restriction to women's freedoms.
"The deadline for the closing of beauty parlours for women is one month," Mohammad Sadiq Akif, a spokesman for the Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and Propagation of Virtue, said on Tuesday.
Foreign governments and United Nations officials have condemned growing restrictions on women since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 after defeating a US-backed government as foreign forces withdrew.
Last year, authorities closed most girls' high schools, barred women from university and stopped many female Afghan aid staff from working.
Many public places including bathhouses, gyms and parks have also been closed to women.
Beauty salons previously sprung up in Kabul and other cities in the months after the Taliban were driven from power in late 2001.
Many of the salons remained open after the Taliban returned to power two years ago, providing some women with jobs and a space to socialise.
The salons are usually female-only and have their windows covered so customers cannot be seen from the outside.
Sahar, a Kabul resident who visited a salon every few weeks, said she felt a final avenue for socialising safely outside of family had now been cut off.
"Parks are not allowed for women so it was a good place for us to meet our friends... it was a good reason to see each other, to meet other women, other girls to talk about issues," she said, according to AAP.
"Now I don't know how to meet them, how to see them, how to talk to each other... I think it will be very impactful for us and women around Afghanistan."
The Taliban administration says it respects women's rights in accordance with its interpretation of Islamic law and Afghan customs.
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Feature Image: AAP.
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