Taliban closure of beauty salons removes last safe haven for Afghan women
As I stepped into my local beauty salon here in England to have my nails done ahead of my brother’s wedding, my phone pinged.
It was a catch-up message from a 23-year-old Afghan woman I have stayed in touch with since we met in Kabul last year.
The irony of the timing of her message wasn’t lost on me.
I had been thinking about her and the other young women from Afghanistan I’ve met in the last few years, when the Taliban ordered all beauty salons in Afghanistan to be shut.
“Salons, gyms, universities, baths, it is all just an excuse,” she wrote, “they just want to destroy us, either to be their slaves like their mothers, or be killed.”
When we first met in August 2022, one year after the Taliban’s takeover, she was already afraid of what would come. So afraid that she didn’t want her name or face published – not then and not now.
She and other women we spoke to likened their lives to “being in prison” almost every day, being told what to wear, what to say, and what to do by the Taliban’s ‘morality police’.
The one place, though, they all knew they could catch a break was inside their beauty salons.
They were another world altogether.
The salons allowed women to cast off many of the shackles of public life
When I was working in Kabul last year, I visited one of these salons along with a female journalist friend of mine. No men are allowed inside.
We wanted to see whether the salons were still operating as usual, and we actually just wanted to be in a space where women aren’t judged or vilified just for being a woman.
Mostly dark, thick, ‘inoffensive’ curtains separated the salons from the streets – though some went for bold-coloured curtains, and I liked that, it felt like a small act of rebellion.
Painted nails and skinny jeans
Once women entered those curtains, for a moment they were free.
They were free to take off their black abayas and niqabs and store them in a cupboard and instead walk around in skinny jeans and a ‘nice top’.
They were free to have their nails painted in bright yellows, oranges, and pinks on the toes they aren’t supposed to show.
The owner we spoke to (above) always feared the Taliban would force salons to close
And they were free to say anything they wanted to say while they chatted away and exchanged news as their hair was being cut, coloured, and blow-dried.
One group of young women were gathered in a corner of the two-storey salon getting ready for a family wedding.
They were wearing traditional, colourful Kuchi dresses and ornate jewellery and headwear, with sparkly high heels.
They looked stunning, but they couldn’t show their faces because they didn’t want to get in trouble.
The salon’s owner, a feisty woman full of confidence and positive energy, was happy to talk as she managed her staff and dozens of clients.
She insisted she didn’t want to cover her face for the interview, she wanted to speak openly, though she didn’t want her or her salon’s name published – just in case.
At the time, she talked about the tense relationship between her salon and the morality police.
“The Taliban holds all the power, they could close my business at any time,” she said matter-of-factly. But she hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
Some salons had images of women defaced, others chose to remove them when the Taliban took over (below)
Pic: AP
The salon owner is the main breadwinner for her family and said it didn’t make sense to shut salons because they operate behind closed doors and are a vital part of the economy.
She correctly pointed out that not allowing women to finish their higher education, run businesses, or progress in society would have a profound long-term impact on the economy.
I’ve tried to get in touch with her since this latest edict was published, but I’ve yet to make contact.
For now, I can only assume the salon we stepped into has now been shut down.
Every day since foreign troops left Afghanistan, life has become worse and worse for women and girls.
The younger generation, many of whom only knew life under the 20-year NATO command, are a tech-savvy group who – in Kabul especially – are not used to not having their freedoms.
‘I just want to live’
Last month, the United Nations published a report detailing just how much those freedoms have been curbed.
“In Afghanistan today, girls and women are denied education beyond primary level, banned from working outside the home in most sectors, prohibited from accessing public baths, parks, and gyms, and moving freely around the country,” the report stated.
The Taliban have massively rowed back on the freedom of women and girls. Pic: AP
It found that the Taliban has “severely restricted the rights of women and girls and suffocated every dimension of their lives”.
And that is how many women feel: suffocated and invisible.
I still often receive messages like “nobody hears us”, “I need to get out of this scary and dangerous place,” and “I just want to live”.
There are clear divisions within the Taliban, we found that when we were last in Afghanistan.
The younger generation of leadership realise that if they want to be allowed back at the international table they will have to give women and girls their rights back.
But it would appear from the latest order that the old guard are still holding sway.
It may seem like frippery to mourn the loss of beauty salons, but when every other right and freedom has already been taken away, the loss of one of your last remaining safe havens is another huge blow.
World
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Conor McGregor has spoken out after losing a civil rape case as a feminist march was held in Dublin.
The MMA fighter was accused of raping Nikita Hand, who was awarded €248,603 (£206,000) in damages on Friday after a jury at Dublin’s High Court found McGregor assaulted her in a Dublin hotel in 2018.
Nikita Hand.
Pic: PA
Posting on social media, the 36-year-old said: “I know I made mistakes”.
It comes as hundreds of people in Dublin staged a demonstration in “utter solidarity” with Ms Hand.
Posting on X, McGregor said: “People want to hear from me, I needed time. I know I made mistakes. Six years ago, I should have never responded to her outreaches. I should have shut the party down. I should never have stepped out on the woman I love the most in the world. That’s all on me.
“As much as I regret it, everything that happened that night was consensual and all the witnesses present swore to that under oath. I have instructed my legal team to appeal the decision.
“I can’t go back and I will move forward. I am beyond grateful to my family, friends and supporters all over the world who have stayed by my side.
“That’s it. No more. Getting back to the gym- the fight game awaits!”
Conor McGregor (centre) and partner Dee Devlin leave the High Court in Dublin after he lost a civil case.
Pic: PA
Speaking outside court after the decision, an emotional Ms Hand said the two-week-long civil case had been a “nightmare” but that “justice has been served”.
“It’s something that I’ll never forget for the rest of my life,” she added.
In Dublin on Monday night, a march in support of Ms Hand was organised by the socialist feminist movement group Rosa to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
The demonstration in Dublin.
Pic: PA
Ruth Coppinger (left) and Natasha O’Brien at the solidarity march.
Pic: PA
Participants chanted “stand with Nikita” and “no more fear, no more shaming, we reject your victim blaming” as they carried signs and banners through the capital’s streets.
Ruth Coppinger, a councillor and general election candidate, and Natasha O’Brien, who became a public figure after a soldier received a suspended sentence for assaulting her, both spoke at the event.
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Ms Coppinger said Ms Hand was “an incredibly brave woman” and that she was watching the event via a live stream.
Ms O’Brien was cheered as she said she’d been “in awe” of Ms Hand’s courage and that Ireland had let out a collective “sigh of relief” after the jury found in Ms Hand’s favour.
McGregor was accused of having “brutally raped and battered” Ms Hand.
She was taken in an ambulance to the Rotunda Hospital the following day where the paramedic who assessed her told the court she had not seen “someone so bruised” in a long time.
Following eight days of evidence, and three days of closing speeches and the judge’s instructions to the jury, the jury of eight women and four men spent six hours and ten minutes deliberating before returning their verdict.
World
Egypt: Two Britons believed to be among 16 missing as tourist boat sinks after being ‘hit by large wave’
Two Britons are believed to be among more than a dozen people missing after a boat sank in the Red Sea off the Egyptian coast.
The yacht, called Sea Story, had 44 people on board, including 31 tourists of varying nationalities and 13 crew.
Authorities are searching for 16 people, including 12 foreign nationals and four Egyptians, the governor of the Red Sea region said, adding that 28 other people had been rescued.
Preliminary reports suggested a sudden large wave struck the vessel, capsizing it within about five minutes, governor Amr Hanafi said.
“Some passengers were in their cabins, which is why they were unable to escape,” he added in a statement.
Survivors rescued from the Sea Story in Marsa Alam. Pic: STR/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
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Passengers rescued from sunken tourist boat
The people who were rescued only suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scrapes with none needing hospital treatment.
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office spokesperson said: “We are providing consular support to a number of British nationals and their families following an incident in Egypt and are in contact with the local authorities.”
The foreign nationals aboard the 34-metre-long vessel, owned by an Egyptian national, included Americans, Belgians, British, Chinese, Finns, Germans, Irish, Poles, Slovakians, Spanish, and Swiss.
Sea Story had no technical problems, obtained all required permits before the trip, and was last checked for naval safety in March, according to officials.
The four-deck, wooden-hulled motor yacht was part of a multi-day diving trip when it went down near the coastal town of Marsa Alam following warnings about rough weather.
Officials said a distress call was received at 5.30am local time on Monday.
The boat had left Port Ghalib in Marsa Alam on Sunday and was scheduled to reach its destination of Hurghada Marina on 29 November.
The Sea Story had 44 people on board. File pic: Dive Pro Liveaboard
Some survivors had been airlifted to safety on a helicopter, officials said.
The firm that operates the yacht, Dive Pro Liveaboard in Hurghada, said it has no information on the matter.
According to its maker’s website, the Sea Story was built in 2022.
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The incident comes after the Egyptian Meteorological Authority issued a warning on Saturday about turbulence and high waves on the Red Sea.
The organisation had advised against maritime activity for Sunday and Monday.
Some tourist companies have stopped or limited operations on the Red Sea due to the potential dangers from conflicts in the region.
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