Behind Closed Doors: Kabul’s Women Hairdressers Under Taliban Rule
“I have two children. My husband is addicted to drugs, and I’m the only one who supports the family. Now the Taliban have taken my work away too. We’ll starve.”
Sahar*, 28, had been quietly running a small beauty salon from her home in Kabul’s Dasht-e-Barchi for the past two years. It was risky under Taliban rule, but it kept her family alive.
Her husband, once a soldier in the Afghan National Army, left for Iran after the Taliban regained power and jobs vanished. There, he became addicted to drugs. Since returning a year ago, he has not worked.
“He doesn’t care about the family—only his addiction,” Sahar says. “I take full responsibility for our home, and my children are still young. I have no other way to earn a living.”
Two weeks ago, Taliban “morality police” barged into her home without permission. They ordered her to close the salon and warned that if she continued working, she would face prison.
Before the ban, she earned up to 4,000 afghanis a week—enough to send her children to a private school and cover basic expenses. Now she struggles to afford bread.
“This month my kids are still in school. Next month they’ll be at home. One is in fifth grade, the other in third. I just can’t pay the fees anymore.”
Sahar is one of many Kabul women who were their families’ main breadwinners and have now been stripped of their livelihoods.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) says Taliban forces have launched door-to-door searches to shut down women’s beauty salons. Those still operating in secret report harassment, demands for bribes, and threats from local security officials.
Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban has steadily tightened restrictions on women—banning them from most jobs, public spaces, and all secondary and higher education.
“We’re not allowed to study. We’re not allowed to work. What are we supposed to do?” Sahar asks. “At least let us breathe.”
*Name changed for security reasons
