The latest shock move by the Taliban regime against women
Under the Taliban regime, the dummies in the women’s clothing stores in the Afghan capital of Kabul are disturbing, their heads wrapped up in cloths and fabrics or in black plastic bags.
The hooded mannequins are a symbol of the Taliban’s rule over Afghanistan. But in a way they are also a demonstration of resilience and creativity on the part of Kabul’s clothing merchants.
As the AP reporter recounts, Ebrahim Norooziiinitially the Taliban wanted the mannequins to be decapitated.
Not long after taking power in August 2021, the Taliban Ministry of Vice and Virtue decreed that all mannequins were to be removed from shop windows or be decapitated. They based the order on a strict interpretation of Islamic law which prohibits statues and images of the human form as they could be worshiped as idols, although it also dovetails with the Taliban’s campaign to remove women from the public eye.
Some dress sellers have joined. But others don’t. Indeed, they complained that they would not be able to display their clothes properly or would have to damage precious mannequins. So the Taliban had to change their order and allowed shop owners to cover the heads of the mannequins instead of decapitating them.
The variety of solutions devised it is displayed on Lycee Maryam Street, a middle-class shopping street lined with clothing stores in the northern part of Kabul. The shop windows and showrooms are lined with mannequins in evening gowns and dresses full of color and decoration, and all with various types of headdresses.
“I can’t cover the heads of the mannequins with plastic or ugly things because it would make my window and my shop look ugly,” said the owner of one such shop. Like other owners, he spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
The economy in Afghanistan collapsed, after the return of the Taliban and the consequent interruption of international funding, plunging almost the entire population into poverty. Elaborate dresses have always been popular in Afghanistan for weddings, one of the few remaining occasions for social gatherings.
The trader said: “Buying wedding, evening and traditional clothes is no longer a priority for people, who think more about getting food and surviving.”
Another clothing store owner, Hakim, fashioned aluminum foil over the heads of his mannequins: “I took an opportunity from this threat and made the mannequins even more attractive than before,” he said. said. In another shop the mannequins in sleeveless dresses all had black plastic bags over their heads. The owner said he couldn’t afford more.
Another shop owner said agents from the Ministry of Vice and Virtue regularly patrol shops and malls to make sure the mannequins are decapitated or covered up, and commented: “Everyone knows that mannequins are not idols and no one will worship them. In all Muslim countries, mannequins are used to display clothes“.
A small number of male mannequins can be seen in the windows, even with their heads covered, suggesting that the authorities are applying the ban uniformly.
A woman who shopped on Lycee Maryam Street looked at the hooded mannequins and said: “When I see them, I feel that these mannequins are also captured and trapped, and I feel a sense of fear. I seem to see myself behind these windows, an Afghan woman deprived of all her rights.”
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