Women's beauty salons were banned in Afghanistan because they offered services forbidden by Islam and caused economic hardships for grooms' families during wedding festivities, the Taliban said Thursday.
The explanation came days after the group confirmed they were giving all salons in the country one month to wind down their businesses and close shop, drawing concern from international officials worried about the impact on female entrepreneurs.
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.
In a video clip released Thursday, Sadiq Akif Mahjer, the spokesman for the Taliban-run Virtue and Vice Ministry, listed a series of services salons offered that he said went against Islam. Those included eyebrow shaping, the use of other people's hair to augment a woman's natural hair and the application of makeup, which would interfere with the ablutions required before offering prayers, he said.
In addition, the salons cause economic stress on grooms' families, who are required by custom to pay for the pre-wedding salon visit by the bride and her close female relatives, he said.
The ban comes days after the Taliban supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, claimed his government had taken steps for the betterment of women's lives in Afghanistan.
Amena Sharifi, who owns a Kabul salon, said she was the only breadwinner in her family, since her husband, a former policeman, has been unemployed since the Taliban took power in August 2021.
"The beauty salon was our only income, and now I don't know what to do? How we should pay for our expenses?" the mother of four said.
The families of three other women working for her will also lose their incomes, she said.
Israel pounded Iran with a series of airstrikes early Saturday, saying it was targeting military targets in retaliation for the barrage of ballistic missiles the Islamic Republic fired upon Israel earlier this month. Explosions could be heard in the Iranian capital, Tehran, though there was no immediate information on damage or casualties.
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Scotiabank has confirmed outages affecting mobile and online banking services, according to a statement published to its X account.
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The Provincial Archives of New Brunswick (PANB) has uploaded dozens of dashboard camera videos from the 1970s to their YouTube channel.
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A former Alberta teacher has been sentenced to four years for sexually abusing a student.
Russian actors made a widely circulated video falsely depicting mail-in ballots for Donald Trump being destroyed in Pennsylvania, U.S. officials said Friday.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday formally apologized to native Americans for the 'sin' of a government-run boarding school system that for decades forcibly separated children from their parents, calling it a 'blot on American history' in his first presidential visit to Indian Country.
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Chinese hackers targeted cellphones used by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, his running mate, JD Vance, and people associated with the Democratic campaign of Kamala Harris, people familiar with the matter said Friday.
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Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says Canada strongly condemns a new surge in gang violence in Haiti.
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The number of people infected by the E. coli outbreak tied to McDonald's Quarter Pounder hamburgers increased to 75 from 49, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday.
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Tom Holland is getting ready to don his Spidey suit again. The fourth installment of the blockbuster series has been set for a July 2026 release, Sony Pictures said Friday.
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The former longtime CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch pleaded not guilty Friday to federal sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges.
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The London Knights picked up an overtime win at Canada Life Place Friday night.
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More than two years after Alannah Brown and Douglas Barker were found dead north of Penticton, police are asking for help identifying a vehicle they believe was associated with the crime.
Dave Lindsey began growing giant pumpkins to bring a bit of magic to his grandkids' Halloween.
A U.S. District Court judge in Montana has sentenced a 27-year-old man from Kelowna, B.C., to 18 months in prison for using fake names to buy guns with the aim of selling them in Canada.
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With Halloween less than a week away, organizations in Lethbridge are preparing to get in on the trick-or-treating fun.
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The union that represents hospital workers across the province is used a symbol from Greek mythology Friday in Espanola to drive home its campaign about the perils of privatization in health care.
CTV's Coats for Kids is nearing the end of its donation window, with the need as strong as it鈥檚 ever been.
The Anishinabek Police Service and the Ontario Provincial Police are investigating the circumstances around a death in Fort William First Nation.
Investigators found the remains of a 77-year-old American man on Wednesday at the scene of a fire that destroyed a hotel in western Newfoundland earlier on the weekend.
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At 2 p.m. on Thursday, the scene at the Lions Club in Clarenville, N.L., rivalled any rowdy St. John's bar that thumps with music late on a weekend night.
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