Afghan women fight the Taliban with small rebellions in the form of clandestine beauty salons and other businesses that defy the Sharia (Islamic law) bans imposed by the terror organization, The Washington Post reported.
From asking clients to park several blocks away and enter the building by hiding, to closing everything because of the fear of morality police, the report details the various ways women in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan try to live their daily lives.
During the first few months, it wasn’t prohibited to work or attend beauty salons, but a new interpretation of Sharia law two years ago ruled them as “vices” that had to be “prohibited in Islam.”
That meant that almost 12,000 salons had to close their doors and find new ways to make a living, or go underground and face punishment from the morality police.
Simin, one of the women interviewed in the report and a 22-year-old owner of a clandestine salon, said: “I’m worried that the Taliban will find us, but I have no other choice than to keep running it. It’s our family’s only source of income.”
She does this with the utmost care. Customers come only on foot and enter through an unmarked door, while they only need to hush in order to announce their arrival to the shop.
Another example of resilience can be seen in Beheshta, a 23-year-old who started selling cosmetics and jewelry online in 2023 with the objective of circumventing the Taliban’s restrictions and ended up gathering a group of women interested in her business model.
She told The Washington Post that the last couple of months have been increasingly difficult, with customers starting to argue with her about prices and revenue falling by 20% over the last six months.
Not all women rise against the Taliban
Many women decided to accept Sharia law and adapt their lifestyles to the new parameters established by the Taliban.
Sawita used to have her salon before the prohibition, but decided to prioritize her safety and that of her children by closing up once the Taliban instated the new laws.
Nowadays, she works as a leather tailor, teaching other women about the profession, but with a salary that forces her to move her whole family into a one-bedroom apartment.
“What I miss most about my old life is waking up early, reading the Quran, and then going to work,” she said in the report. “That was my definition of freedom.”
Other women found their new profession under the Taliban’s rule. For example, Fariba Noori, a 50-year-old job coach, teaches Afghan women how to launch market stalls or start their own businesses.
“They tell us to work,” she said, “and they’re cooperative.”
However, one thing they share is a pervasive sense of hopelessness in the country and their own lives in Afghanistan.
Noori said foreign donors have rejected dozens of funding applications for women-run ventures in recent months. “All we want is to empower women to stand on their own feet,” she said.
Simin, on the other hand, is determined to seek asylum abroad, “to continue studying and to work towards my goals.”