Taliban orders beauty salons in Afghanistan to close despite concern by UN

ISLAMABAD, July 26 (AP): The Taliban announced Tuesday that all beauty salons in Afghanistan must now close as a one-month deadline ended, despite rare public opposition to the edict.

Sadiq Akif Mahjer, spokesman for the Taliban-run Virtue and Vice Ministry, did not say whether it would use force against salons that do not comply.

The ruling is the latest curb on the rights and freedoms of Afghan women and girls following edicts barring them from education, public spaces and most forms of employment.

The Taliban said it decided to ban beauty salons because they offered services forbidden by Islam and caused economic hardship for the families of grooms during wedding festivities.

Its earlier announcement of a one-month deadline for salons to wind down their businesses led to a rare public protest in which dozens of beauticians and makeup artists gathered in Kabul, the capital. Security forces used fire hoses and tasers and shot their guns into the air to break up the protest.

The ban also drew concern from international groups worried about its impact on female entrepreneurs.

The United Nations said it was engaged with Afghanistan authorities to get the prohibition reversed.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "supports the efforts by the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), which has called on the de facto authorities to halt the edict closing beauty salons.

"UNAMA has said that this restriction on women's rights will impact negatively on the economy and contradicts support for women's entrepreneurship, and we're seeking a reversal of the bans," U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said Monday.