KABUL, Aug 18 — In Afghanistan's capital, shop windows display dazzling ball gowns and three-piece wedding suits — with the face of each mannequin covered. The morality police have asked stores to hide the mannequins' faces and photographs of models, according to a clothes seller in Kabul. “It makes the display a bit ugly,” said the 22-year-old, but it “doesn't affect sales”.
When the Taliban swept back to power in August 2021, it imposed its austere interpretation of Islamic law, including an edict against depicting human faces. “The environment must be Islamic,” said the salesman in Kabul, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals. Women's evening dresses come in bright colours, some styles leaving shoulders exposed or with plunging necklines — almost all sparkling with sequins.
The dresses are bought to be worn only in private, at gender-segregated weddings or engagement parties. The heads of the mannequins sporting each dress are wrapped in plastic, foil or black bags. “Later, they may order that the arms are also covered in plastic,” the salesman predicted.
Other shops display traditional Afghan wedding dresses with full-bodied skirts and intricate embroidery. The Taliban government has told women to completely cover up in public. Women running errands in Kabul's shopping district were seen wearing abaya robes and covering their faces with a medical mask.
‘We make do’ After the ban on depicting human faces was introduced in January 2022, r.