Date: 15/05/1404
Sources told Amu that over the past two days, the Taliban raided at least four women’s hair salons in the Dasht-e-Barchi and Shahr-e-Naw areas of Kabul, arresting female hairdressers and confiscating salon equipment. The detained women were released after several hours of interrogation.

Multiple hairdressers reported that Taliban security forces had previously demanded payments ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 Afghanis in exchange for allowing them to continue operating. Despite these payments, the women were later arrested by officials from the Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, who reportedly also demanded additional payments to permit continued work. During the raids, ministry officials allegedly confiscated equipment and issued threats against the women. One hairdresser, speaking anonymously due to security concerns, stated: “When the mohtasiban learned that we were working, they raided our workplace. They insulted and humiliated us with abusive language. We are the sole breadwinners of our families. The closure of these salons and constant threats have pushed us into a serious crisis.” Sources confirmed that several women were verbally abused and humiliated during detention.

Women’s hair salons were officially banned two years ago by order of Haibatullah Akhundzada. Since then, some salons have continued operating clandestinely to sustain household livelihoods. Recent raids and renewed pressure have intensified fears regarding the safety and survival of women working in this sector.

The reported raids, arrests, confiscation of equipment, and extortion of female hairdressers by the Taliban is coercive enforcement targeting women’s livelihoods through intimidation, humiliation, and financial extraction. The practice of demanding payments in exchange for “permission” to work, followed by arrest regardless of compliance, reflects predatory governance rather than lawful regulation. These actions demonstrate how bans on women’s work are enforced not only through prohibition but through systematic harassment, extortion, and economic strangulation.