Kabul's mannequins, hooded and masked under Taliban rules

Under the Taliban the mannequins in womens dress shops across the Afghan capital of Kabul are a haunting sight their heads cloaked in cloth sacks or wrapped in black plastic bagsThe hooded mannequins are one symbol of the Talibans puritanical rule over Afghanistan But in a way they are also a small show of resistance and creativity by Kabuls dress merchantsInitially the Taliban wanted the mannequins to be outright beheadedNot long after they seized power in August 2021 the Taliban Ministry of Vice and Virtue decreed that all mannequins must be removed from shop windows or their heads taken off according to local media They based the order on a strict interpretation of Islamic law that forbids statues and images of the human form since they could be worshipped as idols though it also meshes with the Talibans campaign to force women out of the public eyeSome clothes sellers complied But others pushed backAlso Read Afghan women protest against Taliban ban on university education of female studentsThey complained theyd be unable to display their clothes properly or would have to damage valuable mannequins The Taliban had to amend their order and allowed the shop owners to cover the mannequins heads insteadShop owners then had to balance between obeying the Taliban and trying to attract customers The variety of solutions they came up with are on display on Lycee Maryam Street a middleclass commercial street lined with dress shops in a northern part of Kabul The store windows and showrooms are lined with mannequins in evening gowns and dresses bursting with colour and decoration and all in various types of head coveringsIn one shop the mannequins heads were cloaked in tailored sacks made out of the same material as the traditional dresses they modelled One in a purple dress beaded with cowrie shells had a matching purple hood Another in a red gown elaborately embroidered in gold was almost elegant in a mask of red velvet with a gold crown on her headI cant cover the mannequins heads with plastic or ugly things because it would make my window and shop look ugly said Bashir the owner Like other owners he spoke to The Associated Press on condition he be identified only by his first name for fear of reprisalsShop owners need keep things attractive the economy has collapsed since the Taliban takeover and the ensuing cutoff of international financing throwing almost the entire population into povertyElaborate dresses have always been popular in Afghanistan for weddings which even before the Taliban were usually gendersegregated giving women a chance to dress in their finest in the countrys conservative societyUnder the Taliban weddings are one of the few remaining opportunities for social gatherings But with incomes so strained they have become less elaborateBashir said his sales are half what they used to beBuying wedding evening and traditional dresses is no longer a priority for people he said People think more about getting food and survivingAnother shop owner Hakim shaped aluminum foil over his mannequins heads It adds a certain flash to his merchandise he decidedI made an opportunity out of this threat and ban and did it so the mannequins are even more attractive than before he saidNot all can be so elaborate In one shop the mannequins in sleeveless gowns all had black plastic sacks over their heads The owner said he couldnt afford moreAnother shop owner Aziz said agents of the Ministry of Vice and Virtue regularly patrol shops and malls to make sure the mannequins are beheaded or covered He was dismissive of the Talibans justification for the rules Everyone knows mannequins arent idols and no ones going to worship them In all Muslim countries mannequins are used to display clothesA small number of male mannequins can be seen in display windows also with their heads covered suggesting that the authorities are applying the ban uniformlyThe Taliban initially said they would not impose the same harsh rules over society as they did during their first rule in the late 1990s But they have progressively imposed more restrictions particularly on women They have banned women and girls from schooling beyond the sixth grade barred them from most jobs and demanded they cover their faces when outsideOn a recent day a woman shopping on Lycee Maryam Street looked at the hooded mannequinsWhen I see them I feel that these mannequins are also captured and trapped and I get a sense of fear said the woman who gave only her first name RahimaI feel like I see myself behind these shop windows an Afghan woman who has been deprived of all her rightsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever