Afghans seeing less of women’s faces
KABUL—Since the return of the Taliban, images of women on storefronts around Kabul have been painted over or vandalized—a reflection of the anxiety among Afghans who fear a repeat of the harsh treatment meted out on females under strict Shariah law. Current Taliban promises to respect women’s rights have failed to erase memories of females being banned from school or work or being stoned to death.
KABUL—Images of women have been covered up or vandalized on storefronts around Kabul, a sign of the Afghan capital’s rapidly changing face in the days since the Taliban took charge.
The new regime took control of the city on Sunday after a lightning offensive that saw provincial strongholds around the country topple like dominoes in a matter of days.
The advance was outpaced only by the anxiety coursing through areas yet to fall under their control, from Afghans fearing a repeat of the harsh treatment of women by the last Taliban rulers.
In the two decades since the US-led invasion that ousted that administration in 2001, hundreds of once-forbidden beauty parlors have proliferated around Kabul.
They have plied a trade in makeup and manicures, serving a clientele of women who had grown up compelled to keep every inch of their body hidden from public view.
But as Taliban forces closed in on the capital, at least one of these stores began whitewashing its outdoor walls to cover up advertisements showing the faces of smiling women in bridal regalia.
Shariah
Another shuttered salon, spotted on Tuesday as a Taliban fighter patrolled the street outside with an assault rifle slung over his shoulder, had its walls defaced with black spray paint to conceal the visages of its models.
During their 1996-2001 rule, the Taliban were notorious for banning girls from school, preventing women from working in contact with men and publicly stoning to death women accused of adultery.
Its ultrastrict interpretation of sharia law also established religious police for the suppression of “vice.”
Since returning to power the group has pledged to respect women’s rights.
A spokesperson for the group in Qatar told Britain’s Sky News that women would not be required to wear the all-covering burqa.
Suhail Shaheen also said the group would permit women to study at universities.
Another representative said the Taliban were “committed to letting women work in accordance with the principles of Islam.”
But Afghans and the international community have been skeptical of these promises.
The Taliban’s advance has accompanied reports of unwed women and widows being forcibly married to fighters—reports dismissed as “poisonous propaganda” by a spokesperson.
Deep worry
Demonstrations have been staged in cities around the world in support of Afghan civilians, and women and girls in particular.
The United States, European Union and other countries have issued a joint statement to say they were “deeply worried about Afghan women and girls” and urged the new regime to ensure their safety.
One Kabul beauty parlor owner had told AFP that she expected to be forced to shutter her business.
“If they come back, we’ll never have the freedom we have now,” said 27-year-old F arida. “They don’t want women working.”