Afghanistan - July 2023

A verbal decree by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada banned all beauty salons in Afghanistan on 4 July, following bans on women and girls attending schools, working at NGOs, and visiting public areas such as parks. The decree is expected to result in more than 60,000 women losing their jobs and the shuttering of 12,000 businesses. The International Labor Organization told Reuters the decrease in women’s employment is expected to be significant, and that many women working in the industry are their family’s primary source of income.

Sources: Reuters, TOLO News

The Taliban suspended the activities of the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SAK) on 11 July in response to several burnings of the Quran in Stockholm over the summer. The SAK, which has operated in Afghanistan uninterrupted since 1980, has a sizable presence across the country, employing 8,000 Afghans, running healthcare facilities that treat 2.5 million patients, schools that educate 130,000 rural children, and services that support 20,000 disabled people in the same rural communities. A Taliban spokesman said that all activities would cease “until the country of Sweden apologises to Muslims.”

Sources: Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty, The Interpreter, Swedish Committee for Afghanistan